Usen took over as CEO of Minerva Surgical in early 2023 to lead efforts to refocus the company and set it up for future growth. The Santa Clara, California–based company soon raised $30 million in a private placement led by Accelmed Partners. The money-raise made Accelmed the controlling stockholder. By the end of last year, the company voluntarily delisted itself from the Nasdaq exchange and went private, saying that “going dark” would enable it to better focus on its operating plan. Accelmed made another $20 million investment in the company in January, which made it a 90% owner.
“What a great journey the last 18 months has been at Minerva,” Usen said in a LinkedIn post on July 3. “From a publicly traded uterine health company to a privately held womens health platform play, the future is very bright. There was much work to do to refocus and redesign the organization to prepare it for future growth. Two new FDA-approved technologies, the launch of the Herizon single-use hysteroscope, in addition to a revamped financial and cost structure set up for the future. ”
Now that Minerva Surgical has a new board with Accelmed Partners taking the lead, it’s time for the company to take a new course, according to Usen.
Usen said he worked closely with the company’s new chair over the past six months to discuss what the senior leadership team should look like under the new ownership and had agreed to stay on until the company could find a new leader, engage in additional restructuring, and complete three critical business development opportunities to grow the bottom line.
“That time is now, and in the coming days and weeks, you will learn about the exciting next generation of Minerva,” Usen said. He said he would share the next step in his career when he can speak publicly.
Usen is a well-known executive in the medical device industry. He’s presently the executive chair of surgical robotics company Rob Surgical and a board director of Alesi Surgical. Before Minerva Surgical, he served four years as CEO at Activ Surgical. The previous three years, he was president of Olympus’ Medical Systems Group. Other roles during his career have included executive positions at Smith+Nephew and Boston Scientific.
MassMEDIC — the trade group for New England’s medical device industry hub — named Usen its board chair last month.
