02.04.13
Biomedical Structures Elects R&D Executive to Lead Expansion Efforts
Biomedical Structures LLC (BMS) is growing. The biomedical textiles company will expand its medical textiles development and manufacturing facility by 10,000 square feet. The added space will support the engineering center for new product development and will increase the number of clean rooms available for textile development, according to the company.
In preparation for the expansion, BMS has appointed medical device industry veteran Jonathan Howe vice president of research and development. Howe will bring more than 15 years of experience developing solutions for the spine, sports medicine, and interventional cardiovascular markets to help BMS meet the precise performance requirements of these device textiles.
Prior to joining BMS, Howe was the former director of research and development at Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy Spine division, where he activated, developed and led a global product portfolio designed to grow DePuy Spine’s market share, including the invention of new lumbar spine and cervical interbody devices. He also has served as the director of new product development for DePuy Mitek, a soft tissue repair and sports medicine device company, and as a product development engineer at JNJ’s Cordis Corporation, where he specialized in cardiovascular and neurovascular implants. Howe holds numerous patents and has launched dozens of products and product development programs. He received his B.S. in biomedical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., and his M.S. in mechanical engineering and M.B.A. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass.
“BMS is thrilled to welcome Jonathan Howe to our R&D team,” said CEO Dean Tulumaris. “We are experiencing a tremendous demand for our biomedical textiles for increasingly sophisticated solutions across the orthopedic and cardiovascular markets. Jonathan’s track record of device development and innovative engineering approach is a great fit for our customers’ needs as they continue to evolve.”
“Biomedical textiles can provide the perfect solution for many medical device engineering challenges,” said Howe. “A cutting-edge medical textile developer like BMS is in the middle of a perfect storm of opportunity as device engineers look to improve performance and move toward more lifelike solutions for patients. I’m excited to join the BMS team with the chance to truly innovate on established designs.”
New ultrasonic and roll-to-roll triple cleaning capabilities are part of the expanded clean room space, which triples BMS’ 2011 total. BMS also has increased weaving capacity with advanced equipment to accommodate demand for vascular grafts, synthetic tendons and orthopedic tissue repair, and other woven textile structures.
BMS offers knitting, braiding, weaving, nonwovens, and composites, and uses biocompatible absorbable and non-absorbable materials in devices, drug delivery and surgical systems for applications such as bifurcated stent grafts, tapered tendon and ligament repair structures, and heart valves.
COO Post Created at CEA Medical Manufacturing
CEA Medical Manufacturing has asked Steven Burdorf to take the post of chief operations officer, a new position created in 2011. The Colorado Springs, Colo.-based contract manufacturer of final packaged critical care medical devices hired the 20-year industry veteran in the fall of 2012 after an extended hiring process, and he is the first to take on the new role.
Prior to joining CEA, Burdorf served as vice president of operations at Aesculap Inc., a medical device division of B. Braun Medical Inc. based in Center Valley, Pa. He also was a member of the leadership teams at American Medical Systems Inc., a pelvic health company headquartered in Minnetonka, Minn., and GE Security, formerly a division of General Electric Inc.’s GE Enterprise Solutions, now owned by UTC Fire and Security. He served as vice president of customer care and then of operations integration at Interlogix, a security electronics manufacturing firm, between 1997 and 2003.
Burdorf earned an M.B.A. from the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, Minn., an undergraduate degree in logistics, materials, and supply chain management from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, and continuing leadership development from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He also holds several operations efficiency certifications.
CEA provides engineering, tooling, molding, and extrusion services to the medical industry.
Pneumacare Appoints New Chief Executive
Cambridge, U.K.-based medtech company Pneumacare lost its CEO in January as Ward Hills stepped down to set up several companies both inside the United Kingdom and abroad. He left on good terms—Pneumacare Chairman Bill Mason drew attention to his “outstanding track record,” and said he had “accomplished a great deal for the business and its investors.”
According to Mason, Hills “[Took] the reins of the company early on its history and [steered] it through a difficult but exciting period of funding, product development, regulatory approvals and in 2012, the first distribution and sales in the clinical environment.”
Taking Hills’ place is newly appointed Mark Harwood, a medical device industry veteran who previously was CEO of ArjoHuntleigh Inc. (a member of the Getinge AB Group) in Roselle, Ill., and subsequent to that, served as vice president of Baxter International Inc. He also has served as president of RF Technologies Inc. in Brookfield, Wis.
Harwood has extensive regulatory and quality experience, which will be beneficial to Pneumacare as it finalizes its U.S. Food and Drug Administration 510(k) clearance of the Thora-3DI in the United States. The device translates the data obtained from a lung scan into an interactive three-dimensional output and allows the clinician to view pulmonary function data in defined regions within the thoracic space, the company claims.
“[Harwood] has experience growing small companies in the medical device space as well as managing large teams of several hundred people involved in commercial, manufacturing and regulatory aspects of the businesses with which he has been involved,” said Mason. “His experience includes critical and long-term hospital care as well as special needs patients. He has a strong global track record in Europe and North America.”
Pneumacare develops lung health technology, including medical devices that provide respiratory diagnostic and imaging data for patients.
Executive Chairman Named at JenaValve
JenaValve Technology Inc. has attracted the CEO of Laguna Hills, Calif.-based Vessix Vascular Inc. to serve as its new executive chairman of the board. Raymond W. Cohen joins the Munich, Germany-based company with 25 years of medical device industry experience. JenaValve is a venture-backed developer of transcatheter-delivered aortic valve systems (TAVI) for the treatment of aortic valve disease. The company’s U.S. offices are located in Wilmington, Del.
Cohen has served as Vessix’s CEO since 2010. The company, which developed a percutaneous radiofrequency balloon catheter renal denervation system used to treat uncontrolled hypertension, was acquired by Boston Scientific Corporation in November 2012 for $425 million.
Michael J. Dormer will transition from his position as JenaValve’s non-executive chairman of the board of directors to an advisory role. Cohen currently serves as a member of the board of directors of numerous public and private U.S.-based companies.
Teleflex CEO Leaves Rochester Medical Corp. Board
Benson E. Smith, CEO of Teleflex Inc., is retiring from Rochester Medical Corporation’s board of directors to be replaced by Richard W. Kramp. Smith left his post when his term expired on Jan. 31, and his departure is related to prioritization of his time.
“Benson has been a great asset to Rochester Medical for the past 12 years,” said Rochester CEO Anthony J. Conway. “His knowledge of the marketplace and the medical device industry in general has been invaluable to us. We will miss his support, hard work, and good natured guidance.”
Kramp has been nominated for election as a replacement director. He brings extensive experience in strategic planning and growth initiatives to Rochester’s board. He served as president, CEO and director of Synovis Life Technologies from January 2007 until February 2012, when Synovis was acquired by Baxter International Inc. He had served as president of Synovis since June 2006. From August 2004 to May 2006, he was president and chief operating officer (COO) of the former Interventional Solutions division of Synovis. Prior to joining Synovis, Kramp served as the president and COO of Medical CV Inc. in Inver Grove Heights, Minn. From 1988 to 2003, he was president and COO, and then CEO as well as a director of ATS Medical Inc. (now part of Medtronic Inc.). From 1978 to 1988, he held sales and marketing positions at St. Jude Medical Inc., serving as vice president of sales and marketing from 1981 to 1988. Kramp holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis.
Rochester Medical Corporation develops disposable medical catheters and devices for urological and continence care applications. The company also sells ostomy, wound and scar care products and other brands of urological products in Europe.
Fenwal Executive Takes on Fresenius Leadership Role Post-Acquisition
A mere four days after its acquisition by Fresenius Kabi AG was complete on Dec. 14 2012, Fenwal Inc.’s former vice president of business development, strategy and international marketing, Dean A. Gregory, was named president of medical devices at Fresenius Kabi North America.
In his new role, Gregory will continue to be responsible for North American sales and marketing for the Fenwal business, as well as the commercialization of a range of Fresenius Kabi medical devices for transfusion medicine and infusion therapy, which are used by hospitals as well as blood and plasma collection centers.
Gregory has more than 20 years of health care experience in sales, marketing, strategy and business development roles of increasing responsibility. He joined Fenwal in 2007 when the company was formed though a spin-off from Baxter International. He joined Baxter in 1991. He earned a master’s degree in business from DePaul University in Chicago, Ill., and a bachelor’s degree in biology from University of Illinois in Chicago. He also is a member of AABB (formerly the American Association of Blood Banks), the International Society for Blood Transfusion, and the American Marketing Association.
Based in Lake Zurich, Ill., Fenwal Inc. makes technology for blood separation, collection, filtration, storage and transfusion. The final cost of its sale to Fresenius was approximately $1.1 billion.
Fresenius Kabi’s product portfolio consists of intravenous generic drugs, infusion therapies and clinical nutrition products as well as the medical devices for administering these products. The company’s North American headquarters is in Schaumburg, Ill.
Biomedical Structures LLC (BMS) is growing. The biomedical textiles company will expand its medical textiles development and manufacturing facility by 10,000 square feet. The added space will support the engineering center for new product development and will increase the number of clean rooms available for textile development, according to the company.
In preparation for the expansion, BMS has appointed medical device industry veteran Jonathan Howe vice president of research and development. Howe will bring more than 15 years of experience developing solutions for the spine, sports medicine, and interventional cardiovascular markets to help BMS meet the precise performance requirements of these device textiles.
Howe |
“BMS is thrilled to welcome Jonathan Howe to our R&D team,” said CEO Dean Tulumaris. “We are experiencing a tremendous demand for our biomedical textiles for increasingly sophisticated solutions across the orthopedic and cardiovascular markets. Jonathan’s track record of device development and innovative engineering approach is a great fit for our customers’ needs as they continue to evolve.”
“Biomedical textiles can provide the perfect solution for many medical device engineering challenges,” said Howe. “A cutting-edge medical textile developer like BMS is in the middle of a perfect storm of opportunity as device engineers look to improve performance and move toward more lifelike solutions for patients. I’m excited to join the BMS team with the chance to truly innovate on established designs.”
New ultrasonic and roll-to-roll triple cleaning capabilities are part of the expanded clean room space, which triples BMS’ 2011 total. BMS also has increased weaving capacity with advanced equipment to accommodate demand for vascular grafts, synthetic tendons and orthopedic tissue repair, and other woven textile structures.
BMS offers knitting, braiding, weaving, nonwovens, and composites, and uses biocompatible absorbable and non-absorbable materials in devices, drug delivery and surgical systems for applications such as bifurcated stent grafts, tapered tendon and ligament repair structures, and heart valves.
COO Post Created at CEA Medical Manufacturing
CEA Medical Manufacturing has asked Steven Burdorf to take the post of chief operations officer, a new position created in 2011. The Colorado Springs, Colo.-based contract manufacturer of final packaged critical care medical devices hired the 20-year industry veteran in the fall of 2012 after an extended hiring process, and he is the first to take on the new role.
Burdorf |
Burdorf earned an M.B.A. from the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, Minn., an undergraduate degree in logistics, materials, and supply chain management from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, and continuing leadership development from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He also holds several operations efficiency certifications.
CEA provides engineering, tooling, molding, and extrusion services to the medical industry.
Pneumacare Appoints New Chief Executive
Cambridge, U.K.-based medtech company Pneumacare lost its CEO in January as Ward Hills stepped down to set up several companies both inside the United Kingdom and abroad. He left on good terms—Pneumacare Chairman Bill Mason drew attention to his “outstanding track record,” and said he had “accomplished a great deal for the business and its investors.”
According to Mason, Hills “[Took] the reins of the company early on its history and [steered] it through a difficult but exciting period of funding, product development, regulatory approvals and in 2012, the first distribution and sales in the clinical environment.”
Taking Hills’ place is newly appointed Mark Harwood, a medical device industry veteran who previously was CEO of ArjoHuntleigh Inc. (a member of the Getinge AB Group) in Roselle, Ill., and subsequent to that, served as vice president of Baxter International Inc. He also has served as president of RF Technologies Inc. in Brookfield, Wis.
Harwood has extensive regulatory and quality experience, which will be beneficial to Pneumacare as it finalizes its U.S. Food and Drug Administration 510(k) clearance of the Thora-3DI in the United States. The device translates the data obtained from a lung scan into an interactive three-dimensional output and allows the clinician to view pulmonary function data in defined regions within the thoracic space, the company claims.
“[Harwood] has experience growing small companies in the medical device space as well as managing large teams of several hundred people involved in commercial, manufacturing and regulatory aspects of the businesses with which he has been involved,” said Mason. “His experience includes critical and long-term hospital care as well as special needs patients. He has a strong global track record in Europe and North America.”
Pneumacare develops lung health technology, including medical devices that provide respiratory diagnostic and imaging data for patients.
Executive Chairman Named at JenaValve
JenaValve Technology Inc. has attracted the CEO of Laguna Hills, Calif.-based Vessix Vascular Inc. to serve as its new executive chairman of the board. Raymond W. Cohen joins the Munich, Germany-based company with 25 years of medical device industry experience. JenaValve is a venture-backed developer of transcatheter-delivered aortic valve systems (TAVI) for the treatment of aortic valve disease. The company’s U.S. offices are located in Wilmington, Del.
Cohen has served as Vessix’s CEO since 2010. The company, which developed a percutaneous radiofrequency balloon catheter renal denervation system used to treat uncontrolled hypertension, was acquired by Boston Scientific Corporation in November 2012 for $425 million.
Michael J. Dormer will transition from his position as JenaValve’s non-executive chairman of the board of directors to an advisory role. Cohen currently serves as a member of the board of directors of numerous public and private U.S.-based companies.
Teleflex CEO Leaves Rochester Medical Corp. Board
Benson E. Smith, CEO of Teleflex Inc., is retiring from Rochester Medical Corporation’s board of directors to be replaced by Richard W. Kramp. Smith left his post when his term expired on Jan. 31, and his departure is related to prioritization of his time.
“Benson has been a great asset to Rochester Medical for the past 12 years,” said Rochester CEO Anthony J. Conway. “His knowledge of the marketplace and the medical device industry in general has been invaluable to us. We will miss his support, hard work, and good natured guidance.”
Kramp has been nominated for election as a replacement director. He brings extensive experience in strategic planning and growth initiatives to Rochester’s board. He served as president, CEO and director of Synovis Life Technologies from January 2007 until February 2012, when Synovis was acquired by Baxter International Inc. He had served as president of Synovis since June 2006. From August 2004 to May 2006, he was president and chief operating officer (COO) of the former Interventional Solutions division of Synovis. Prior to joining Synovis, Kramp served as the president and COO of Medical CV Inc. in Inver Grove Heights, Minn. From 1988 to 2003, he was president and COO, and then CEO as well as a director of ATS Medical Inc. (now part of Medtronic Inc.). From 1978 to 1988, he held sales and marketing positions at St. Jude Medical Inc., serving as vice president of sales and marketing from 1981 to 1988. Kramp holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis.
Rochester Medical Corporation develops disposable medical catheters and devices for urological and continence care applications. The company also sells ostomy, wound and scar care products and other brands of urological products in Europe.
Fenwal Executive Takes on Fresenius Leadership Role Post-Acquisition
A mere four days after its acquisition by Fresenius Kabi AG was complete on Dec. 14 2012, Fenwal Inc.’s former vice president of business development, strategy and international marketing, Dean A. Gregory, was named president of medical devices at Fresenius Kabi North America.
In his new role, Gregory will continue to be responsible for North American sales and marketing for the Fenwal business, as well as the commercialization of a range of Fresenius Kabi medical devices for transfusion medicine and infusion therapy, which are used by hospitals as well as blood and plasma collection centers.
Gregory has more than 20 years of health care experience in sales, marketing, strategy and business development roles of increasing responsibility. He joined Fenwal in 2007 when the company was formed though a spin-off from Baxter International. He joined Baxter in 1991. He earned a master’s degree in business from DePaul University in Chicago, Ill., and a bachelor’s degree in biology from University of Illinois in Chicago. He also is a member of AABB (formerly the American Association of Blood Banks), the International Society for Blood Transfusion, and the American Marketing Association.
Based in Lake Zurich, Ill., Fenwal Inc. makes technology for blood separation, collection, filtration, storage and transfusion. The final cost of its sale to Fresenius was approximately $1.1 billion.
Fresenius Kabi’s product portfolio consists of intravenous generic drugs, infusion therapies and clinical nutrition products as well as the medical devices for administering these products. The company’s North American headquarters is in Schaumburg, Ill.