Versa Vascular, developer of a novel transcatheter tricuspid valve repair system—AdapTR—has announced changes to its senior management team and the completion of new investment to support clinical study of its device.
The company announced that Bill Shields, a former vice president and general manager of Medtronic’s Transcatheter Mitral and Tricuspid Therapies division joins as CEO, replacing the retiring David Hovda, who will remain as an advisor to the company.
According to Versa, Shields spent 15 years with Medtronic, where he spent seven years leading product development and multiple clinical studies. Previously, he led upstream and downstream marketing for the company’s transcatheter valve programs over eight years, including multiple successful product launches.
The company also announced a US$15 million expansion to its series C financing, bringing the total committed capital for the round to US$42 million, supporting completion of the ongoing first-in-human clinical study of the AdapTR device outside of the USA, a US early feasibility study of the technology, and further product development and optimisation.
“I am thrilled to join Versa Vascular at a time when we are seeing positive results clinically, close to expanding our clinical work to the USA, and receiving continued investor confidence,” said Shields. “I have seen and launched a number of innovative transcatheter devices in my career, and the AdapTR technology shows similar promise to create a superior therapy for patients. I want to thank David Hovda and the team for their commitment to product development and refinement that has led to a truly novel solution that is showing it can have a positive impact on patients’ lives.”
“We strongly believe in Versa’s vision to improve the lives of patients with tricuspid disease, and we are proud to continue supporting the company as it executes on its clinical milestones,” said Brian R Smith, founder and managing director of S3 Ventures.
“We also enthusiastically welcome Bill Shields to the Versa team,” said Louis A Cannon, founder of BioStar Capital. “Bill’s deep structural heart expertise, experience developing new transcatheter therapies, scaling up operations, and strong industry connections align closely with BioStar’s mission to improve patients’ lives.”
