Autonomix Medical (Nasdaq:AMIX) has tapped Medtronic’s former chief regulatory counsel, Sandra Cohen Kalter, for its board of directors as it looks to advance its pipeline of catheters for mapping and treating the nervous system.
Kalter has served as an advisor to Autonomix’s board for nearly a year. Now with her own seat, the company hopes to wield her nearly two decades of experience at Medtronic where she supported development, acquisitions and FDA strategy in renal denervation and pulsed field ablation, as well as structural heart and transcatheter pacing.
“Her firsthand understanding of how a global medical device leader evaluates emerging technologies, navigates regulatory pathways and approaches strategic partnerships and acquisitions is exceptionally valuable to Autonomix as we advance our technology and expand our relationships across the industry,” Autonomix’s chairman of the board, Walter Klemp, said in a statement.
Prior to joining Medtronic, which she left as VP in January 2025, Kalter served as a counsel in King & Spalding’s FDA-focused legal practice. At Autonomix, she will also be tasked with evaluating pitches to expand its platform in new therapeutic applications.
The company has been developing a catheter designed to detect individual nerve signals from within a blood vessel, for a potentially minimally invasive route to identify overactivity and deliver ablations to treat pain from tumors, abdominal organs or joints, as well as high blood pressure or other cardiovascular conditions.
“Having spent much of my career at Medtronic helping guide innovative technologies through complex regulatory, clinical and strategic processes, I understand the importance of combining strong technology with a thoughtful development and commercialization strategy,” Kalter said.
The Texas-based Autonomix’s initial focus is delivering proof-of-concept in pain related to pancreatic cancer or pancreatitis.
“Sandy’s experience is particularly relevant to where Autonomix is headed,” said CEO Brad Hauser. “We are developing technology at the intersection of sensing, neuromodulation and minimally invasive intervention, and her experience with major platforms in renal denervation and electrophysiology gives her a unique perspective on the opportunity in front of us.”
