Organovo (PINK:ONVO) said earlier this week that Taylor Crouch has been appointed as CEO, replacing Keith Murphy who is stepping away from the company. The changes are slated to go into effect on April 21.
Prior to being tapped for the corner office, Crouch operated as CEO of investigative clinical research company eStudySite, the San Diego, Calif.-based company said.
“I am extremely proud of the progress we have made in the last ten years achieving our vision for Organovo. Our 3D bioprinted human tissues are a disruptive and game-changing technology. Founding Organovo and guiding us to our leadership position in 3D bioprinting has been a privilege, and I am extremely grateful to my Organovo colleagues who assisted in building this success, as well as all of our partners and customers. I am a true believer in our existing tissue research services, the potential of our therapeutic liver tissue, and the future opportunities enabled by our platform technology. The time is right to bring in a CEO with the relevant commercial experience to lead the company into its next stage. I have great confidence in Organovo’s continued growth and success, and I look forward to working with the board and Taylor over the coming months to ensure that this transition is seamless for all of our stakeholders,” Murphy said in a prepared statement.
Murphy is leaving “to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities,” according to the company, but will remain board chair and will stay on as an advisor during the transition.
“I am excited and honored to succeed Keith as Organovo’s CEO. Keith is an exceptional leader who built Organovo into the strong global company it is today. I look forward to working with the seasoned management team and all my talented new colleagues to further advance 3D human tissue bioprinting technology, advance solutions that benefit patients and drive the commercialization and scale of our business,” Crouch said in a prepared release.
“On behalf of the board, I want to thank Keith for his many contributions to Organovo and the groundbreaking innovations he helped pioneer. Keith saw the value in 3D bioprinting technology before the market existed, and had the vision to take it from its earliest stages in academic labs, and develop it into a global business with a robust commercial platform and strong IP portfolio. We support Keith’s decision to step down and agree this is the opportune time to bring Taylor on to lead Organovo in its next phase of commercial growth. We also appreciate his willingness to continue to serve the company. Taylor is uniquely positioned to lead our growing company into its next phase given his significant commercial and operations experience. We are confident that Taylor’s extensive skills and expertise in the biotechnology and life sciences industries align with Organovo’s strategy to capitalize fully on its growth opportunities. The board looks forward to working with Taylor and the management team to execute against our strategy and continuing to create meaningful value for stockholders,” lead director Kirk Malloy said in a press release.
Sunshine Heart taps ex-Surgical Theater prez Breidenstein as CCO
Sunshine Heart (NSDQ:SSH) said on Tuesday that Jim Breidenstein will join the company as its new CCO, effective April 24.
Prior to joining Sunshine Heart, Breidenstein served as prez & CCO at Surgical Theater. Before that, Breidenstein was senior VP of sales at Cardiovascular Systems (NSDQ:CSII).
“I am very excited to have someone with Jim’s experience and proven track record of success join the company at this critical stage. His extensive leadership and experience in building infrastructures, programs, and processes will be critical to successfully scale our commercial organization,” Sunshine Heart CEO & chair John Erb said in a press release.
Beaver-Visitec names Korangy as CFO, CSO
Beaver-Visitec said on Monday that it hired Shervin Korangy as its new chief strategy officer and chief financial officer.
Before the move to Waltham, Mass.-based Beaver-Visitec, Korangy worked as a senior exec with Novartis, the company said.
“BVI’s ongoing commitment to improving patients’ lives through product innovation and quality positions the company with a wonderful growth potential. I am very excited to be joining the team and look forward to working closely with Dana, the rest of BVI’s management team, and our investor TPG Capital to continue to build on the company’s momentum,” Korangy said in a prepared statement.
“Shervin is a talented executive who possesses deep industry knowledge and insight into how to grow companies tactically and strategically. He will be a significant asset as we look to expand into new markets and broaden our ophthalmic platform. His joining marks another important step in furthering BVI’s leading position. I look forward to working together with Shervin to pursue a series of exciting growth opportunities,” prez & CEO Dana Mead Jr. said in a prepared response.
IRRAS appoints former Abbott exec Boling as product dev VP
Brain pathology therapeutic device developer developer IRRAS said on Monday it appointed C. Bolling as its new product development VP and a member of its executive management team.
Before his move to IRRAS, Boling was director of nano technology development at Abbott (NYSE:ABT). Prior to that, he served in leadership positions at Nevro Corp. (NYSE:NVRO), NeuroPace and Autonomic Technology, according to the La Jolla, Calif.-based company.
“I am excited to welcome Lance as a member of the IRRAS executive management team as we expand our commercial footprint and advance our IRRAflow technology. Lance has very impressive credentials – in addition to his deep medical device development expertise, he also brings valuable manufacturing and operations experience that will greatly enhance our ability to transform the way strokes and brain hematomas are treated,” CEO & chair Kleanthis Xanthopoulos said in a press release.
“Each year in the U.S. and EU, approximately 2 million people suffer strokes and almost three hundred thousand have a hemorrhagic stroke, with almost half of these instances ending in death. Unfortunately, the current available medical devices cannot address the complications that lead to death and the need for innovation in this field is urgent. Because of this, I am extremely pleased to join the IRRAS team to combat this global health issue. We plan to aggressively expand and advance our core IRRAflow technology to provide patients, physicians and payors with an intelligent solution for the management of strokes and brain hematomas,” Boling said in a prepared statement.
Bonesupport taps Diefenbeck as new CMO
Bonesupport said on Tuesday it named Michael Diefenbeck as a new chief medical officer, with the hire slated to take effect some time this month.
Diefenbeck currently serves as an honorary consultant at the Oxford University Hospital’s Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, and founded Scientific Consulting in Orthopaedic Surgery in 2014.
“I am excited to be joining Bonesupport at a particularly exciting time for the Company. I look forward to working with the Bonesupport team, to help shape the future development of the Company as it continues to develop and reinforce the clinical benefits that its Cerament based products deliver,” Dr Diefenbeck said in a prepared statement.
“We are pleased to welcome Michael to the Bonesupport team. I have no doubt that his extensive medical experience in the orthopaedics field and his knowledge of our Cerament platform that he will be a real asset to Bonesupport as we look to grow our business and deliver value to all of our stakeholders,” CEO Richard Davies said in a press release.
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