Paris, France, October 16, 2017 – SafeHeal, an MD Start-ed company and a pioneer in the prevention of digestive surgery complications, today announced the appointment of Karl Blohm, Ph.D., as CEO.
Anne Osdoit, co-founder of SafeHeal who has been CEO since the inception of SafeHeal, will remain involved as the President of SafeHeal.
Dr. Blohm was most recently Vice President International of GI Dynamics, an innovator in the field of endoscopically inserted treatments for management of type 2 diabetes and obesity, where he was instrumental in developing clinical evidence, physician support and market access pathways, securing the Endobarrier product launch in Europe and Middle East.
He is a senior executive with more than 25 years of experience in managing international business operations, combining capital equipment and medical devices in both large- and small-company environments. Dr. Blohm played a key role in successfully launching several innovative medical devices and technologies in his previous positions at Accuray, EndoGastric Solutions and Siemens, with a particular focus on gastrointestinal surgical and endoscopic markets. Karl holds a Ph.D. in Elementary Particle Physics from the University of Paris.
“MD Start builds companies on strong fundamentals - breakthrough technologies that really have value, focused on large, unaddressed clinical need, and significant market opportunity. SafeHeal is a great example of such high impact therapy, which is essential to the development of the company,” said Dr. Blohm. “I have been consistently impressed by the speed and quality of strategic planning and execution during the incubation of SafeHeal, with significant milestones already achieved, and a deep understanding of clinical endpoints relevant to patients, regulators and payers. The streamlined SafeHeal team has done a superb job bringing the technology from concept through preclinical validation, and I am thrilled to join the company to make its innovation available to patients around the world.”DR. Karl Blohm
“Karl is a perfect fit and brings a directly relevant experience to the company to move this technology successfully from the bench to the patient,” said Anne Osdoit. “His network of clinicians, his knowledge of the regulatory and reimbursement processes and his expertise in bringing products to the market in the digestive field give us a unique opportunity to prepare for commercialization in Europe, the US and ultimately China, while continuing to advance our R&D and clinical validation programs. We are very excited to have him leading the company through the next phase of product launch.”Anne Osdoit
About SafeHeal and its Colovac™ Colorectal Anastomosis Protection Device
SafeHeal, based in Paris, is working to reshape digestive surgery by developing and commercializing anastomosis protection devices for improved post-operative patient recovery and reduced healthcare costs. SafeHeal develops Colovac™, an innovative endoluminal solution for the protection of colorectal anastomosis, designed to reduce anastomotic complications post-surgery and to obviate the need for diverting ostomies for patients undergoing colectomy. The Colovac device is intended to enable patients to resume their normal life after a colorectal surgery, without having to bear an artificial anus and wear an ostomy pouch. For more information, visit www.safehealmedical.com
About MD Start
MD Start, based in Paris, is an incubator, a team of entrepreneurs and a fund brought together under the same efficient 3-in-1 “start-up studio” structure, dedicated to medical technologies. MD Start is not another fund and is not another incubator: MD Start is the entrepreneur as well as the incubator and the investor. From its proprietary deal flow originating from physician and researcher inventors around the world, MD Start creates, develops and operates the projects, turning them into new companies with both strategic and hands-on approaches, in order to bring them to investment stage and commercial development. For more information, visit www.mdstart.eu