By michaelpschaller
A Success by Any Other Name…
What does success look like for medical devices these days? It’s easy to lose track of the wins with all the doom-and-gloom circulating about reimbursement struggles and regulatory pitfalls. Success might not look like what it used to, but it’s there.
Bill Starling, the notable medical device entrepreneur, discussed this topic at a recent Stanford Biodesign Alumni Association event. And who better than a guy who has seen success in many forms across his career? Read more
The Rise of CV Ingenuity: Breaking All the “Rules”
Trade-offs drive success, conviction drives success, and team drives success.
Duke Rohlen closed our Biodesign Alumni Annual Event with this quip and it provides a great summary of the CV Ingenuity (CVI) story. As CEO and president, Duke was joined by CFO Doug Koo and NEA investor Justin Klein for a panel discussion that highlighted the company’s path. Read more
Mike Carusi: The Healthcare VC is Not Extinct
Mike Carusi had a good year. As a general partner at Advanced Technology Ventures (ATV) he saw his investments in Ardian and Plexxikon payoff with acquisitions of $800 million and $805 million respectively (not to mention potential milestone payments). He saw another investment, GI Dynamics, IPO on the Australian stock market, and to top it off he was named on the Forbes 2011 Midas List as a top investor.
Ardian shares with Alumni
In 2006, Foundry company Ardian was well positioned with a disruptive technology to address a large unmet clinical need: a neuromodulation device to treat heart failure. Fast forward to November 2010 and Ardian has just been acquired by Medtronic for $800M upfront and an expected $500M in milestone payments. However their technology is now an RF ablation catheter for treating hypertension, a major risk factor for stroke, heart attack, and heart failure.
Biodesign Alumni 