CeloNova has announced the appointment of Carl J St. Bernard as president and chief executive officer (CEO).
According to CeloNova, St. Bernard joins the company from Tryton Medical where he was president and CEO, leading the company’s commercialisation efforts in the coronary stent market. St. Bernard’s previous experience includes vice president at Johnson & Johnson Vision (formerly Abbott Medical Optics), vice president of North American Marketing & Sales for LifeCell, and vice president at Cordis where he led the commercial operations for the cardiovascular and endovascular businesses in the USA.
Jason Cone, who served as interim CEO for the past two years, will assume a position on the company’s Board of Directors.
Incorporating the company’s Polyzene-F (PzF) nanocoating technology, CeloNova’s non–drug-eluting Cobra PzF nanocoated coronary stent (NCS) system is designed to help physicians safely and effectively treat patients who may benefit from short, 1-month minimum dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT).
The device is indicated for improving coronary luminal diameter in patients, including those with diabetes mellitus, with symptomatic ischemic heart disease caused by de novo lesions in native coronary arteries. The Cobra stent is intended for use in patients eligible for percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty with a reference vessel diameter of 2.5 to 4.0 mm and lesion length of ≤ 24. mm.
The appointment of Mr. St. Bernard precedes the anticipated conclusion of the company’s global COBRA REDUCE randomised trial evaluating ultra-short, 14-day DAPT compared with market-leading drug-eluting stents with 3 or 6 months of DAPT in patients at a high risk of bleeding.
In CeloNova’s announcement, Mr. St. Bernard stated, “Percutaneous coronary intervention patients at high risk for bleeding complications have long been a challenge for the interventional cardiology community. Cobra PzF NCS is an innovative solution, unlike any other in the coronary stent market, that offers a safe and effective option for these patients. I look forward to leading CeloNova into its next phase of commercial growth.”
