Ra Medical Systems, Inc. (NYSE: RMED), a medical device company
focusing on commercializing excimer laser systems to treat vascular
and dermatological diseases, announces the appointment of Chris
Folk, PhD, as Vice President of Engineering, effective January 13,
2020. With more than 20 years of engineering experience primarily
in medtech, Dr. Folk has led the design, development and
engineering of novel medical devices with highly specific design
requirements, leading to commercial success. In this newly created
position, Dr. Folk will report to Andrew Jackson, Ra Medical
Systems Interim CEO and CFO.
“Chris is an experienced leader, engineer and inventor who
brings to Ra Medical highly relevant expertise in engineering
transformational products and bringing game-changing medical
devices to market,” said Mr. Jackson. “He has managed teams
responsible for more than 20 device development programs at firms
ranging from startups to multinationals. Notably, Chris has
significant experience with catheters from his years at Covidien
Neurovascular/ev3, where he led the commercial launch of three
510(k) catheters. We view his appointment as a significant step in
improving the design and manufacturing of the DABRA catheter to
enhance its consistency and extend its shelf life.”
“I have a particular passion for innovative medical devices,
whether being developed from scratch or improving an existing
design, and I see the clear advantages of photoablation over
competing technologies for the treatment of peripheral artery
disease,” said Dr. Folk. “This is an exciting opportunity for my
colleagues and me to identify design and manufacturing solutions
that enhance the existing products while concurrently developing
new and next generation product offerings. I’m delighted to join
the Ra Medical team at this critical juncture as we work toward a
successful future with a differentiated product line.”
Dr. Folk served for the past four years at ViaCyte, a privately
held regenerative medicine company, most recently as Engineering
and Device Manufacturing Director. He was responsible for product
development including the redesign of its lead product candidate
PEC-Direct, a novel biologic-device replacement therapy for type 1
diabetes. Prior to ViaCyte, Dr. Folk spent three years as Device
Strategy Principal Engineer at Amgen, where he evaluated and
determined unmet drug delivery needs across the company’s entire
portfolio and led internal device R&D programs to enable new
routes and methods of drug delivery. Before that, Dr. Folk served
for three years as Research & Development Manager for Covidien
Neurovascular (formerly ev3) with responsibility for overseeing
cross-functional teams that successfully launched three FDA
510(k)-cleared catheters to treat ischemic stroke and aneurysms.
During his tenure, he managed the R&D team that created the
first hypotube-based catheter for neurovascular access, allowing
unprecedented torque and transmission of force.
Earlier in his career he was Senior Design and Applications
Engineer-Medical Devices for Microfabrica Corporation, a designer
and manufacturer of micromachine devices, where he was the
technical manager for NIH-funded minimally invasive heart surgery
research and co-invented the device published as the first
all-micro electro-mechanical system (MEMS) medical devices surgical
tool. He began his career in the Technical Leadership Program at
General Electric, a world leader in the design and manufacture of
commercial and military jet engines, leading a team developing the
high-pressure engine core for an advanced military prototype.
Dr. Folk holds 10 issued patents with more than a dozen pending.
He has coauthored articles published in the peer-reviewed journals
Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions, International Journal of
Robotics Research, Rapid Prototyping Journal and Journal of
American College of Cardiology.
Dr. Folk holds a BS in Aerospace Engineering from the University
of Notre Dame, an MS in Engineering Mechanics from the University
of Cincinnati and a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the
University of California, Los Angeles.
About Ra Medical Systems
Ra Medical Systems commercializes excimer lasers and catheters
for the treatment of vascular and dermatological diseases. In May
2017, the DABRA laser system and single-use DABRA catheter received
FDA 510(k) clearance in the U.S. as a device for crossing chronic
total occlusions, or CTOs, in patients with symptomatic
infrainguinal lower extremity vascular disease with an intended use
for ablating a channel in occlusive peripheral vascular disease.
Pharos excimer laser system is FDA-cleared and is used as a tool in
the treatment of psoriasis, vitiligo, atopic dermatitis, and
leukoderma. DABRA and Pharos are both based on Ra Medical’s core
excimer laser technology platform and deploy similar mechanisms of
action. Ra Medical manufactures DABRA and Pharos excimer lasers and
catheters in a 32,000-square-foot facility located in Carlsbad,
Calif. The vertically integrated facility is ISO 13485 certified
and is licensed by the state of California to manufacture sterile,
single-use catheters in controlled environments.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events
or Ra Medical’s future financial or operating performance. In some
cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they
contain words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,”
“anticipates,” “could,” “intends,” “target,” “projects,”
“contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential” or
“continue” or the negative of these words or other similar terms or
expressions that concern Ra Medical’s future expectations,
strategy, plans or intentions. Forward-looking statements in this
press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding
Ra Medical’s business strategy, including its plans to improve the
consistency and shelf life of its DABRA catheters, as well as
developing new and next generation product offerings. Ra Medical’s
expectations and beliefs regarding these matters may not
materialize, and actual results in future periods are subject to
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those projected or implied by such forward-looking
statements. The potential risks and uncertainties which contribute
to the uncertain nature of these statements include, among others,
challenges inherent in developing, manufacturing, launching,
marketing, and selling new products; risks associated with
acceptance of DABRA and Pharos and procedures performed using such
devices by physicians, payors, and other third parties; development
and acceptance of new products or product enhancements; clinical
and statistical verification of the benefits achieved via the use
of Ra Medical’s products; the results from our clinical trials,
which may not support intended indications or may require Ra
Medical to conduct additional clinical trials or modify ongoing
clinical trials; challenges related to commencement, patient
enrollment, completion, an analysis of clinical trials; Ra
Medical’s ability to manage operating expenses; Ra Medical’s
ability to effectively manage inventory; Ra Medical’s ability to
recruit and retain management and key personnel; Ra Medical’s need
to comply with complex and evolving laws and regulations; intense
and increasing competition and consolidation in Ra Medical’s
industry; the impact of rapid technological change; costs and
adverse results in any ongoing or future legal proceedings; adverse
outcome of regulatory inspections; and the other risks and
uncertainties described in Ra Medical’s news releases and filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Information on these
and additional risks, uncertainties, and other information
affecting Ra Medical’s business and operating results is contained
in Ra Medical’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2018 and in its other filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements in this press
release are based on information available to Ra Medical as of the
date hereof, and Ra Medical disclaims any obligation to update any
forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
Ra Medical investors and others should note
that we announce material information to the public about the
company through a variety of means, including our website
(www.ramed.com), our investor relations website
(https://ir.ramed.com/), press releases, SEC filings, and public
conference calls in order to achieve broad, non-exclusionary
distribution of information to the public and to comply with our
disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. We encourage our
investors and others to monitor and review the information we make
public in these locations as such information could be deemed to be
material information. Please note that this list may be updated
from time to time.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200107005236/en/
At the Company:Jeffrey
KrawsPresident, Ra Medical Systems760-707-7516jkraws@ramed.com
Investors and Media:LHA Investor
RelationsJody Cain / Kevin McCabe310-691-7100jcain@lhai.com /
kmccabe@lhai.com
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