Cardica Hires New CEO

Cardica Inc. has named Julian Nikolchev (pictured below) as president, CEO and a member of the company’s board of directors, effective Oct. 15. Nikolchev succeeds Bernard A. Hausen, M.D., Ph.D., who co-founded Cardica and served as president and CEO since 2000. Hausen announced that he was stepping down from his positions in August 2015.

The publicly traded company designs and manufactures proprietary stapling and anastomotic devices for cardiac and laparoscopic surgical procedures. Cardica’s technology portfolio is intended to reduce operating time and facilitate minimally invasive and robot-assisted surgeries. Cardica’s MicroCutter XChange 30, a cartridge-based articulating surgical stapling device with a 5-millimeter shaft diameter, is manufactured and cleared for use in a variety of gastrointestinal procedures and appendectomies in the United States, and for a wide range of surgical procedures in Europe. In addition, Cardica makes automated anastomosis systems, the C-Port Distal Anastomosis Systems and PAS-Port Proximal Anastomosis System for coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

“Julian brings extensive experience leading medical device companies from development through commercialization, establishing leading brands in the marketplace and ultimately achieving commercial and strategic goals,” said Gary Petersmeyer, chairman of the board of directors for Cardica, which is based in Redwood City, Calif. “His broad knowledge of the medical device market adds to his deep technical understanding and appreciation of the engineering necessary to maximize the potential for the MicroCutter XChange 30 and future products. We believe he is the right person to lead the company through its next phase of growth.”

Nikolchev brings more than 30 years of medical device experience to Cardica. Previously, he served as founder, CEO and chief technology officer of Pivot Medical (now part of Stryker Sports Medicine) where he directed the transition from development enterprise to a full commercial organization. He joined Pivot Medical while serving as a venture partner at Frazier Healthcare Ventures. Before Frazier, he served as founder, president and CEO of CardioMind (sold to Biosensors International) and previously as president and CEO of ProDuct Health (sold to Cytyc). Prior to ProDuct Health, he served as manager of the new venture group at Target Therapeutics, where he subsequently founded Conceptus (sold to Bayer AG in 2014) and served as founder and chief technology officer for many years.

Prior to his tenure leading medical device companies, Nikolchev served in a variety of escalating management positions within engineering organizations. He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in mechanical engineering from Stanford University and a M.S. degree in management of technology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is the author of numerous papers on technology commercialization and new technology development and an inventor and co-inventor on more than 35 issued or pending patents.

“I am delighted to join Cardica at this pivotal time in the company’s history, and look forward to addressing the challenges ahead while driving the company towards commercial success, building on the solid foundation established by Dr. Hausen and the dedicated team at Cardica,” said Nikolchev. “I believe there is a tremendous opportunity to leverage the unique features and benefits of the MicroCutter XChange 30 to establish a market-leading product line in the United States and internationally.”