CVRx Creates Chief Commercial Officer Position Medical device company CVRx Inc. has created a new e

CVRx Creates Chief Commercial Officer Position
Medical device company CVRx Inc. has created a new executive position to head its marketing department—chief commercial officer. The company attracted Philippe Wanstock, Ph.D., from Medtronic Inc. to take on this new role, where he will take responsibility for the global launch of CVRx’s Barostim neo product. Barostim neo has received CE Mark approval and is currently available in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria.

Barostin neo is intended to treat hypertension and heart failure by helping trigger the body’s natural blood flow regulation systems that may not be functioning correctly. The system works by electrically activating the baroreceptors located in the carotid artery, the body’s natural blood pressure sensors that regulate cardiovascular function. CVRx claims the system helps arteries to relax, making it easier for blood to flow through the body and easing cardiac exertion.

Wanstok brings 20 years of medical device experience to CVRx. Most recently, he served as the international general manager of cardiac rhythm disease management, commercial operations, at Medtronic, leading an international team of 3,000 colleagues and generating more than $2.4 billion of revenues in active implantable devices. He began his career with Medtronic in his native France, where he helped establish the cardiac rhythm disease management business. Prior to that, he served as vice president of international marketing of cardiac rhythm management (CRM) and electrophysiology at Boston Scientific Corp., which he joined when the company acquired Guidant Corp., where he was at different times general manager and director of CRM marketing. At Guidant, he served in a variety of management roles.

Wanstok holds a master’s degree in economics from the Université Paris-Assas and a doctorate degree in finance and international marketing from the Université Panthéon Sorbonne, both in Paris, France.

“Philippe’s track record of accomplishments in the active implantable medical device market makes him ideally suited to lead CVRx’s worldwide commercial activities,” Nadim Yared, president and CEO of CVRx, said in a prepared statement.

Wanstock expressed enthusiasm for CVRx’s technology: “The Barostim neo is an unparalleled technology for treating hypertension and heart failure,” he said, calling it a “game-changing therapy.”
The Minneapolis, Minn.-based firm launched a European post-market hypertension registry in July to track performance outcomes and physician experience using the company’s Barostim neo device for hypertension. The registry is expected to enroll up to 500 patients.