NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cibiem, Inc., a medical device company leveraging its proprietary, minimally invasive, catheter-based approach focused on Carotid Body Modulation™ (CBM) for the treatment of a broad range of sympathetic nervous system-mediated diseases, today announced the appointment of Ken Martin to president and chief executive officer. Mr. Martin will succeed Cibiem co-founder Howard R. Levin, M.D., who will continue his active involvement within the company and as a member of its board of directors.
“We are excited to welcome Ken to Cibiem as he brings more than 20 years of experience and an impressive track record in leading successful medical device companies through commercialization and valuable strategic acquisitions,” said Dr. Levin. “Since our $10 million Series A financing last year, Cibiem has made significant, rapid progress in advancing our CBM program, including continued enrollment in our first-in-man clinical trial. With Ken’s expertise in technology development and product engineering of catheter-based medical devices, we are in an even stronger position as we move forward with the development of our catheter-based approach for the treatment of diseases such as hypertension, heart failure, diabetes and renal failure.”
Prior to joining Cibiem, Mr. Martin was president and chief executive officer of Sadra Medical. There, he worked with the founding team to significantly redesign the company’s Lotus™ Valve System, the first fully repositionable device for percutaneous aortic valve replacement to treat patients with severe aortic stenosis, which ultimately led to the company’s acquisition by Boston Scientific Corp. for $450 million in 2011. Prior to joining Sadra Medical, Mr. Martin was vice president of engineering at Hansen Medical, a robotic catheter control system company, and at Immersion Corporation, a pioneer in haptic feedback systems used for simulation and hands-on medical training. Prior to that, he was an engineer at IDEO, a product design and innovation consulting firm. Mr. Martin is an inventor or co-inventor on more than 50 issued patents and published patent applications and is an alumna of the Stanford Biodesign Program. Mr. Martin holds a B.A.Sc. in mechanical engineering from the University of Toronto, an M.S. in manufacturing systems engineering from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from Santa Clara University.
“Modulation of the carotid body is an innovative and exciting approach to treating sympathetic nervous system-mediated diseases, and Cibiem has a significant competitive advantage as the only company currently targeting CBM,” said Mr. Martin. “Having launched five other successful companies to date, including the game-changing Ardian, Cibiem’s co-founders are proven idea generators and innovators in solving medical challenges by addressing the root cause of disease. I am excited to work with Howard and Mark Gelfand and look forward to leading the exceptional Cibiem team as we execute on their vision and advance this transformative approach.”
About Cibiem
Cibiem is a medical device company leveraging its proprietary, minimally invasive, catheter-based approach focused on Carotid Body Modulation™ (CBM) for the treatment of sympathetic nervous system-mediated diseases such as hypertension, heart failure, diabetes and renal failure. Based in New York City, the company was co-founded by Mark Gelfand and Howard R. Levin, M.D., the proven team of innovators and entrepreneurs behind Coridea, a technology incubator focused on medical device innovation driven by new targets in the cardio-renal and cardio-pulmonary fields. The company is backed by top-tier venture investors SV Life Sciences and Third Rock Ventures. For more information, please visit www.cibiem.com.