Orchestra BioMed Appoints Chief Financial Officer

Orchestra BioMed Inc. has appointed Evan Ballantyne as its chief financial officer (CFO). Ballantyne is an experienced financial and strategic leader in the biotech, medical device, and information services industries with a proven track record of building and strengthening a company’s financial position during his career of more than 25 years.   David Hochman, chairman and CEO of Orchestra BioMed, commented, “Over the course of his career, Evan has played key roles in successfully leading companies in the full range of strategic options in financing including private equity and public offerings. His proven track record, business acumen, and established network of relationships will be a critical resource for Orchestra BioMed as we plan for rapid progress in our innovative product development and value creation strategy in the years ahead.”   Prior to joining Orchestra BioMed, Ballantyne most recently served as the CFO at Accera Inc., an Alzheimer’s disease focused company backed by Nestlé Health Sciences. He previously served as executive vice president and CFO of Clinical Data Inc., a biopharmaceutical company that was acquired by Forest Labs for $1.6 billion. Ballantyne was also CFO of Synthetic Biologics Inc., a microbiome-focused company where he led the company’s re-structuring effort, and CFO at Agenus Inc., an immuno-oncology company where he helped complete several acquisitions and partnerships as well as monetize a GlaxoSmithKline royalty-stream for gross proceeds of $115 million. He also served as CFO of the private medical technology companies Avedro Inc. and ZymeQuest Inc. Before entering the healthcare industry, Ballantyne served as CFO of Knowledge Impact Inc., a software company whose technology was ultimately acquired by Oracle Inc., and as chief operating officer and CFO at the ACNielsen Corporation. He also held positions in finance at IMS Health and Dun & Bradstreet Corp. Ballantyne has a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Western Ontario and a post-graduate degree in business administration from the University of Windsor.   “Our business strategy is to leverage partnerships with established global market leaders to optimize the clinical impact and commercial value of our technologies designed to address major unmet clinical needs primarily in the area of cardiovascular disease. By successfully executing this innovative approach, we expect to generate long-term, high margin cash flow from royalties, revenue sharing, as well as licensing and development payments from strategic partners. Evan’s expertise is perfectly aligned with our unique strategy, and we look forward to benefitting from his insights, experience and contributions as we seek to establish Orchestra BioMed as a premier biomedical innovation company,” said Hochman.   “I firmly believe Orchestra BioMed’s innovative business model will accelerate market access to groundbreaking treatments for major unmet needs like artery disease and hypertension. I am especially pleased to join the leadership team at what I believe is a pivotal stage in the company’s growth,” stated Ballantyne. “I am eager to leverage my experience as a member of the Orchestra BioMed team and to contribute to the company’s success in the near- and long-term.”   Orchestra BioMed, Inc. is a biomedical innovation company focused on developing high-impact therapeutic solutions to address major medical conditions where options for patients are limited or inadequate. The company advances promising therapeutic solutions through late-stage development based on rigorous clinical research and then leverages partnerships with established global leaders in product commercialization to bring new treatment options to patients quickly and efficiently. This strategy aims to maximize the commercial potential of novel therapies while positioning Orchestra BioMed to generate long-term, high-margin cash flows from revenue sharing, royalty, licensing and product development agreements. With a primary focus on the treatment of cardiovascular health issues that affect tens of millions of people worldwide, the Orchestra BioMed pipeline includes BackBeat Cardiac Neuromodulation Therapy, a patented implantable cardiac stimulation-based treatment for hypertension, and Virtue Sirolimus-Eluting Balloon, a first-in-class drug/device combination product that delivers delayed-release bioabsorbable particle encapsulated Sirolimus to the artery during balloon angioplasty for treatment of atherosclerosis. Orchestra BioMed also has significant strategic ownership in other therapeutic device companies, including FreeHold Surgical (a wholly-owned subsidiary), Motus GI, and Vivasure Medical.