Stryker Corp. (NYSE:SYK) picked a former Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) executive to lead its nascent neurotechnology and spine group.
Semprus BioSciences
Hospira lures Allergan president Michael Ball
Hospira Inc. (NYSE:HSP) ended its search for a CEO by luring Allergan Inc. (NYSE:AGN) president Michael Ball to the corner office in San Diego.
Ball, 55, replaces Hospira founder Christopher Begley, who’s staying on as executive chairman.
Ball spent 16 years at Allergan, rising to president after stints leading its pharmaceuticals , global eye care and North American businesses.
MassDevice Podcast: Semprus BioSciences CEO David Lucchino
Medical device developers have long sought to reduce the risks involved with implants by applying coatings to prevent both bacteria and blood from sticking to the objects once they’re inside the body.
But coatings can wear off or otherwise lose their effectiveness. Semprus BioSciences Inc. is developing a solution to this fundamental limitation of implanted medical devices with its Sustain technology, which CEO David Lucchino describes as a “physical extension” of the device’s material.
MassDevice New Year’s Special | David Lucchino
Prior to co-founding Semprus BioSciences in 2007, Lucchino was a senior associate at Polaris Venture Partners. He co-founded and served as managing director of LaunchCyte, an investment firm that specializes in developing biomedical intellectual property. Lucchino earned an M.B.A. from the Mass. Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management as an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, an M.S. from Syracuse University and a B.A. from Denison University.
Semprus BioSciences closes $18 million Series B round
Semprus BioSciences Corp. reeled in $18 million in Series B financing for its nanotech medical device coating.
Semprus CEO David Lucchino told MassDevice that the company will use the proceeds to build a team of "been there, done that" medical device executives and to scale up its manufacturing operations.
"Investor expectations with this round of funding are that we would gain regulatory and clinicial clarity, along with having an initial product in hand to start initial sales. We’re looking at the next 24 months as being that window," Lucchino told us.
Semprus BioSciences lands $500,000 from NSF
Semprus BioSciences Corp. landed a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.
The Cambridge, Mass.-based company, which develops vascular access devices, said it will use the NSF’s Phase II-B grant to help commercialize its Semprus Sustain Performance products.
Semprus steals Weaver from Boston Scientific
Semprus BioSciences Corp. appointed former Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE:BSX) design engineer Douglas Weaver for a new executive role.
The Cambridge, Mass.-based firm named Weaver group leader of process development. He will head the company’s development of manufacturing processes and help the company scale up its vascular access products, Semprus said.
Semprus BioSciences taps pharma, MIT bigwigs for board
Semprus BioSciences Inc. tapped a veteran of the pharmaceutical world and a prominent MIT professor for its scientific advisory board.
Colin Gardner and Michael Cima will join the Cambridge, Mass.-based medical device coatings developer’s science panel effective immediately.
Gardner, a private industry consultant, put in time as chief scientific officer at TransForm Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired in 2005 by Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ). After the buyout he stayed on as senior vice president of research and site leader for TransForm. His resumé also includes a stint at Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK).
Semprus taps new development VPs
Semprus BioSciences Corp. tapped a pair of executives to lead its business and product development operations.
The Cambridge, Mass.-based firm is developing a "dual-functional" vascular access catheter using its Semprus Surfaces covalent chemical bonding technique, "a permanent, non-leaching biomaterial modification to the device surface" according to the company’s website.
Semprus said it named Donald Anderson as its vice president of business development and Laurence Roth as VP of product development.