JenaValve Technology has announced that cardiovascular medical device industry veteran Stefan Schreck has been named the company’s new chief technology officer, effective immediately.
Schreck is a prolific inventor with more than 80 US patents and patent applications and brings to JenaValve more than 30 years of technology innovation and engineering leadership.
“Dr Schreck is joining JenaValve at a time of great change and opportunity. Stefan’s extensive domain experience and track record of innovations in the design of heart valves and related delivery systems makes him uniquely qualified to advance our pipeline and help position JenaValve as an important global TAVI player,” says chief executive officer David J Drachman. “We continue to expand our worldwide commercial footprint for our transapical TAVI system and are also investing significant resources in the development of our innovative transfemoral platform which we plan to launch in Europe during 2015. Our devices are the only TAVI products with CE mark approval for both aortic stenosis and aortic insufficiency patients. Notably, our new steerable transfemoral product has recently received FDA Fast Track designation.”
Schreck was responsible for the development of surgical heart valve repair and replacement products including annuloplasty rings, and aortic and mitral bioprosthesis at Edwards Lifesciences before and after the spin-off from Baxter Healthcare. He also invented the first catheter based valve concepts for Edwards. From 2004 to 2013, Schreck served as vice president of technology and later chief technology officer at Irvine-based Endologix. Under his technical leadership, Endologix rapidly expanded its base business product portfolio and commercialised a new innovative sealing technology to advance the transcutaneous repair of aortic aneurysms.
Schreck says, “The novel JenaValve technology platform represents immense clinical value as its unique design elements address key technical challenges facing physicians. My goal is to help deliver a pipeline of innovative bioprosthesis systems in a more rapid fashion. I am impressed with Drachman’s vision for JenaValve and commitment to aggressively compete with the larger players in the space.”
Schreck holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and a M.S. in aerospace engineering. Prior to joining the medical device industry, he conducted biomedical research at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Southern California.
