Surmodics Appoints Medtech Veteran to its Board of Directors

Surmodics Inc., a provider of medical device and in-vitro diagnostic technologies, has added Lisa Wipperman Heine to the company’s Board of Directors, effective April 12.
 
Wipperman Heine has spent more than 25 years in leadership positions in the medical device industry. She is currently the chief operating officer at Mitralign, a developer of transcatheter tricuspid and mitral valve therapies. Prior to joining Mitralign, Wipperman Heine was the founder and principal at deArca Strategic Solutions LLC, a consulting firm focused on helping medtech companies assess, develop, and execute strategies related to market opportunities and technology adoption. She has also served in multiple leadership roles at Covidien plc., including global vice president of medical affairs for Vascular Therapies. During her tenure at Covidien, Wipperman Heine helped drive the strategy in support of a $1.7 billion business and was also responsible for leading the strategy and operations of clinical affairs, healthcare economics, policy and reimbursement, and medical education functions. Wipperman Heine received her masters of science degree from the University of Manitoba and her bachelor of arts degree from St. Olaf College.
 
“We are pleased that Lisa Wipperman Heine will be joining our board,” said Gary Maharaj, president and CEO. “Lisa brings a broad range of experience in strategic roles and in developing devices for vascular repair, and we look forward to her contributions as we continue to work toward achieving our goal of improving the lives of patients. She joins Surmodics at an exciting time as we are preparing to deliver on many milestones including advancing our pipeline products in clinical trials.”
 
“I am honored to join a company that is focused on creating life changing products for patients,” said Wipperman Heine. “Surmodics continues to differentiate itself in the medical device sector with an evolving business model, and I look forward to providing additional insight as the company continues to grow and build out its business.”
 
Surmodics develops surface modification technologies for intravascular medical devices and provides chemical components for in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) tests and microarrays. Following two recent acquisitions of Creagh Medical and NorMedix, the company is executing a key growth strategy for its medical device business by expanding to offer total intravascular product solutions to its medical device customers. With this focus on offering total solutions, Surmodics’ mission remains to improve the detection and treatment of disease. Surmodics is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minn.