LOS ALTOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cibiem, Inc., a clinical-stage medical device company targeting the carotid body to treat diseases like hypertension and heart failure, today announced that industry veteran William H. (Hank) Kucheman has joined its board of directors. Mr. Kucheman’s addition expands Cibiem’s number of directors to seven as he joins independent directors Fred Khosravi and Michael Buck, along with co-founder Dr. Howard Levin, Neil Exter of Third Rock Ventures, Paul LaViolette of SV Health Investors and Ken Martin, Cibiem President and CEO.
“Our team welcomes a medical technology industry expert like Hank to our board at an exciting time for our company. Interest in device therapies for hypertension is showing a real resurgence. We are completing our transvenous first-in-man study for hypertension, with clinical data expected in early 2018,” says Ken Martin, Cibiem President and CEO. “Hank’s experience as CEO of Boston Scientific and his broad exposure to many early-stage medical technology companies will be tremendous assets as Cibiem continues to advance its vision and pipeline of therapies.”
Mr. Kucheman brings a breadth of experience to Cibiem. He currently serves as a director of BioStar Ventures III, a US based medical device venture capital fund and serves as a board director for several medical technology companies in both the public and private sectors. Prior to joining BioStar, Mr. Kucheman served as Chief Executive Officer of Boston Scientific, before which he served as Executive Vice President and President of the Cardiology, Rhythm and Vascular (CRV) Group at Boston Scientific.
“I’m excited to join Cibiem’s Board of Directors and work with the team to bring this important therapy to patients,” said Mr. Kucheman, “Cibiem’s combination of solid clinical data, a unique IP position and the diagnostic capability to identify patients most likely to respond to treatment all make for a highly differentiated opportunity that will provide a huge benefit for patients.”
Mr. Kucheman is joining the Cibiem Board of Directors in conjunction with an early investment by BioStar Ventures, ahead of a company planned Series C financing slated for the first quarter of 2018. Additionally, Dr. Louis Cannon (founding partner of BioStar) is joining the Cibiem Scientific Advisory Board.
About Cibiem, Inc.
Cibiem is a medical device company leveraging its proprietary, minimally invasive, catheter-based transvenous 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. Cibiem is developing a novel method to pre-screen patients likely to respond to therapy which will allow physicians to better provide care to patients with targeted therapy. The company was co-founded by Mark Gelfand and Howard R. Levin, M.D., the proven team of innovators and entrepreneurs behind Coridea. The company is backed by top-tier venture investors Third Rock Ventures, SV Health Investors and BioStar Ventures.