Becton Dickinson (NYSE:BDX) said today it named current president Tom Polen as its new chief operating officer, filling a role that has been empty since 2016.
Polen was appointed president in April 2017, and will continue to report to chairman and CEO Vincent Forlenza, the Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based company said.
In his new position, Polen will have oversight of its three operating segments, its innovation and new product dev pipeline and global operations, BD said.
“Tom’s promotion reflects his leadership role developing and implementing BD’s strategy and vision and aligning our businesses under three strong segment leaders. Tom’s priority of driving innovation to create category leadership, as well as his focus on integrating Bard and enhancing the customer experience, will help guide our segments, R&D portfolio and global operations as we continue to shape BD into a partner of choice for the global health care industry,” Forlenza said in a press release.
ViewRay appoints ex-Nevro exec Alecxih as CCO
ViewRay (NSDQ:VRAY) said yesterday it appointed former Nevro (NYSE:NVRO) worldwide sales VP James Alecxih as its new chief commercial officer, effective on September 17.
Prior to joining Nevro, Alecxih spent 14 years with robotic surgical giant Intuitive Surgical (NSDQ:ISRG), most recently holding a position as sales senior VP for North and South America, Australia and New Zealand. Earlier in his career, he also held various sales management roles at Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) subsidiary Ethicon Endo-Surgery.
“We are excited to welcome Jim as our chief commercial officer as we drive the commercial adoption of the MRIdian system. We are committed to extending our leadership position in the market. Jim’s proven track record and relevant experience complement our strategic plans and help drive our ambitious growth goals,” prez & CEO Scott Drake said in a press release.
Click Therapeutics adds Kaye as chief med officer, Speier as chief strategy officer
Click Therapeutics said yesterday it tapped Dr. Randall Kaye as its new chief medical officer and Austin Speier as its chief strategy officer.
Prior to joining Click, Kaye served as chief scientific officer for SSI Strategy and chief medical officer at Axsome Therapeutics. They also held the position fo chief medical officer at Avanir Pharma and as medical affairs VP for Scios immediately prior to that.
Speier held the role of emerging tech VP at Precision for Medicine prior to joining Click Therapeutics, advising on design and execution of both development and go-to-market strategies for the company.
“This is an exciting time to welcome Randall and Austin to our executive team as we continue to rapidly advance our product development pipeline. Randall and his success as CMO of Avanir and bringing Nuedexta through development, FDA approval and launch, will provide crucial industry knowledge and leadership. Austin’s extensive strategic consulting and FDA regulatory experience, spanning over 250 life sciences companies and many first-in-class digital products, will be instrumental to Click as the company navigates novel and complex product opportunities with evolving FDA regulatory pathways,” Click co-founder & CEO David Benshoof Klein said in a prepared release.
“Click sits at the forefront of the growing digital therapeutics space, where digital technology is providing an opportunity to address medical treatments in novel and impactful ways. For example, innovative therapeutics are needed to address conditions such as major depressive disorder, where currently available treatments are inadequate or insufficient,” Dr. Kaye said in a prepared statement.
“Digital therapeutics is a promising new sector in healthcare, one we are excited to help further develop through the design and validation of engaging, personalized treatments that are safe and effective. Patients and healthcare professionals are ready for these new options. FDA, recognizing this need, is now dedicating more time to reexamine its regulatory pathways for software as medical devices to fully support digital therapeutics. We look forward to working with FDA and other key stakeholders to build out this new therapeutic category,” Speier said in a press release.
Shape Memory Medical taps Kraus as sales & biz dev VP
Shape Memory Medical said yesterday that it named Scott Kraus as its new sales and business development vice president.
Prior to joining Shape Memory Medical, Kraus served as the East area VP for Intersect ENT (NSDQ:XENT). Earlier in his career, he held senior management roles at TriReme Medical, Intact Vascular and Cardiovascular Systems. He has also held positions with Guidant, C.R. Bard, Bristol Myers Squibb and Surgical Specialities Corp.
“Scott’s proven background in sales growth, product launch, and strategic planning and experience in many medical specialties will allow him to immediately enhance and execute our commercial strategy in Europe and the United States for our peripheral and neurovascular polymer embolization devices. Hiring someone of Scott’s caliber and experience is a milestone for Shape Memory, and a testament to the unique products that have been designed and tested by our skilled research and development team,” CEO Ted Ruppel said in a press release.
“I have been extremely impressed by the Shape Memory Medical team and their ability to develop a differentiated product platform. The Impede embolization plug along with the Trellix embolic coil and other products in development, will offer physicians more versatility, improved clinical outcomes and transform the treatment for millions of patients suffering from vascular disease,” Kraus said in a prepared release.
