Okapi Medical Appoints New CEO

Medical device company Okapi Medical has appointed Darren Obrigkeit, Ph.D., as its new CEO.

Obrigkeit’s appointment comes on the heels of a successful pre-clinical study involving the company’s innovative wound closure technology. Dr. Obrigkeit brings more than 20 years of experience in medical devices, holding leadership roles internationally for both startups and large-scale corporations. He will round out the veteran Okapi team, joining co-founders Dr. David Kay and William Fuller as well as a large group of seasoned medical advisors. “I’m thrilled to join the Okapi team,” said Obrigkeit. “This company is positioned to have a massive impact in the healthcare market with a product that can change the medical adhesive space dynamically.”

Fuller, co-founder of Sotera Medical, now known as S4 Medical, and Kay formed Okapi Medical last spring. Kay is an orthopedic surgeon who in 1995 founded OrthoHelix, a company that developed implants and instruments used in reconstructive foot and ankle surgery. That company was sold in 2012 for $155 million. 

Last year, Okapi landed funding from the Akron Bioinvestments Fund II. Together with some capital from other investors, the company has raised more than $500,000.
 
Okapi’s successful studies, conducted from August through December 2019, demonstrate the value of their patented wound closure technology, Cutiva. “This represents the next generation in wound closure,” said Kay. “Cutiva excels where existing adhesives fall short and breathes new life into options for closing wounds.” Cutiva is the first to incorporate a major advancement in medical adhesive chemistry since the 1990s. The technology platform is based on a portfolio of issued and pending international patents licensed from the University of Akron’s polymer science department. “This unique chemistry enables the creation of truly dynamic, skin-like adhesives for the first time. Cutiva will allow for far superior wound healing in an entirely cost-effective way,” Dr. Kay said.
 
With the completion of this testing milestone, Okapi has progressed to working on development of its unique closure system. “We are zeroing in on the adhesive while developing an entire closure solution. Our next stage of development will include applicators, instruments, and other products aimed to speed and simplify the procedure.” said Obrigkeit. He added that discussions are underway with key partners, and Okapi’s team is well equipped to rapidly meet the next set of milestones towards market launch.

Obrigkeit’s past experience in the medical device industry includes stints as senior director of Business Development, Europe, at Flextronics Medical; co-founder of Angstrom Medica (now RTI Surgical);, and strategic venture capital and licensing at DSM Biomedical. He earned his doctorate in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
 
Okapi Medical, formerly known as K-Medical, is developing next generation wound closure systems. Their adhesive technology takes cyanoacrylate chemistry, which has evolved over 60 years from most commonly known “Super Glue,” to new levels and has the ability to tune the chemistry for specific healthcare applications. The company, based in Akron, Ohio, is founded by a team of medical device industry veterans.