Healthcare Industry News: endoscopic surgery
News Release - June 18, 2010
Vertos Medical Expands Executive Team Amidst Growing Commercial Acceptance of mild(R)
ALISO VIEJO, Calif.--(HSMN NewsFeed)--Medical device company Vertos Medical Inc. has announced the expansion of its senior leadership team with the appointment of Randel W. Woodgrift to senior vice president of operations and research and development, and Ann Deren-Lewis to vice president of marketing. With decades of leadership experience in their respective functional areas, Woodgrift and Deren-Lewis have been tapped to support the accelerating U.S. commercialization of Vertos’ mild* technology for the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS).Woodgrift brings to Vertos 27 years of experience in worldwide medical device operations and a track record of success in product development and commercialization. His immediate focus will be on expanding Vertos’ operations and leading new product development initiatives within the company’s current Aliso Viejo facility. Deren-Lewis, whose 20 years of health care industry experience crosses marketing, medical education, medical affairs, professional relations and business development, will advance the company’s physician outreach, education and support programs. This includes mild Masters, a unique educational program that offers mild-treating physicians a comprehensive resource to build knowledge focused on the diagnosis and treatment of patients with LSS.
“Randy and Ann join Vertos’ leadership team at a pivotal time of growth for the company, as we continue to expand physician adoption of mild and deepen the clinical evidence behind the procedure’s safety and effectiveness,” said James M. Corbett, president and chief executive officer of Vertos. “Randy has the proven ability to scale up worldwide medical device operations and develop innovative new products, while Ann has significant experience growing the market for new medical technologies. Both of these skill sets will be invaluable to Vertos as we execute on our growth plan.”
Woodgrift joins Vertos from Edwards Lifesciences Corp., where he most recently served as business unit vice president, operations for the surgical heart valve and transcatheter valve businesses, and corporate vice president, manufacturing and operations. Prior to Edwards, he spent 17 years at Baxter Healthcare, where his most recent position was vice president, cardiovascular surgery manufacturing and research and development commercialization. At both companies, Woodgrift led operations across the globe, including the Unites States, Europe, South America, Asia and the Caribbean. He began his career in research and development at American Hospital Supply Corporation, where he developed Class II and III devices.
Deren-Lewis was most recently vice president, medical services and professional relations for Merz Pharmaceuticals, where she was responsible for programs including key opinion leader management, medical education and training, publication planning and corporate public relations across the company’s aesthetic, dermatology and neurology businesses. Before Merz, she served as vice president of professional relations for Stiefel Laboratories Inc. and was also director of professional relations and health care compliance officer for OrthoNeutrogena and Colbar Lifesciences, both Johnson & Johnson companies. Earlier in her career, she held management positions at companies including Genentech, Amgen, GlaxoSmithKline and Ernst & Young.
About mild
mild is an image-guided procedure used to treat patients with LSS, a condition diagnosed in 1.2 million patients annually in the United States.1 A less invasive alternative to open or endoscopic surgery, mild safely and therapeutically reduces pain and increases mobility while maintaining structural stability.
About Vertos Medical Inc.
Vertos Medical was founded to advance the treatment of patients suffering with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS), a degenerative, age-related narrowing of the lower spinal canal. Its proprietary platform technologies include mild, which offers a therapeutic intervention to treat LSS and achieve lumbar spine decompression. For more information, visit www.vertosmed.com.
* Vertos mild is FDA cleared for treating central canal stenosis of the lumbar spine.
1 Derived from the Longitudinal Medicare Database.
Source: Vertos Medical
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