Doug Godshall Becomes Executive
Chairman
Zhen Su, MD,
MBA, Appointed to the Board of Directors to Bring Oncology
Expertise
REDWOOD
CITY, Calif., July 2, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Galvanize, a leader in Pulsed Electric Field (PEF)
technologies, today announced the appointments of Doug Godshall to Executive Chairman and
Zhen Su, MD, PhD to its board of
directors.
Godshall was CEO of Shockwave Medical from 2017 until the sale
of the company to Johnson & Johnson for $13.1 billion in May, 2024. Before, he was CEO of
HeartWare International which was acquired by Medtronic in 2016 for
$1.1 billion. Doug started his career
at Boston Scientific where he rose from a sales representative to
President of the Vascular Surgery division and a member the
Operating Committee. He also serves as Chairman of Saluda
Medical.
Godshall commented: "Over the last several years I have been
impressed by the clinical impact Galvanize products are having on
patients and look forward to this expanded role as Executive
Chairman where I can work more closely with the team on the INUMI
Flex launch and scaling the commercial business. I believe the
interventional oncology space is primed for growth, as new
advancements, by Galvanize and others, will make devices a more
integral component of the treatment continuum."
Zhen Su is CEO of Marengo
Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech company which is developing
novel T-cell Receptor-targeting antibodies to provide lifelong
protection against cancer and other diseases. Prior to Marengo,
Zhen served as Senior Vice President and Global Head of Oncology
for Merck KGaA, where he led the franchise's turnaround to achieve
double-digit organic growth and an annual revenue above €1B. He
also held leadership roles with EMD Serono, Sanofi Oncology and
GSK.
Dr. Su stated: "Having spent almost three decades of my career
studying tumor immunology and developing immune-oncology
treatments, I am impressed that Galvanize is developing innovative
medical devices with exciting clinical impacts for patients,
especially for late-stage cancer patients. Preclinically, there
appears to be a synergy between Galvanize's Aliya energy with
standard of care IO therapeutics, particularly neoantigen release,
which we hope to prove out in trials. I look forward to joining the
board of directors to support the company in its ambition to build
strong clinical evidence and pursue indications to establish Aliya
in the care pathway for patients with solid tumors."
"We are thrilled to have Doug expand his role with Galvanize and
for Zhen to join the board. With the recent FDA 510(k) clearance of
the INUMI Flex Endoscopic Needle and growing clinical trial
experience, we are excited to bring these technologies to patients
and their physicians with the appropriate oversight and
leadership."
Aliya, with the INUMI Flex needle, is the first commercially
available system to deliver PEF energy through an endoscope,
enabling physicians to reach and non-thermally ablate soft tissue
lesions. Aliya delivers high voltage, short duration electrical
energy locally to alter the transmembrane potential of cells, which
results in loss of homeostasis, inducing non-thermal programmed
cell death without denaturing cellular proteins and the
extracellular matrix. In addition to focal ablation, preclinical
and prior clinical studies suggest this process may release
antigens from the dying tumor cells that may stimulate an immune
response for a potential systemic effect beyond focal ablation.
Aliya can be delivered using either an endoscopic or percutaneous
approach.
The Aliya PEF System and the INUMI Flex needle are 510(k)
cleared in the United States for
the surgical ablation of soft tissue. They are not currently
commercially available in any other geography.
About Galvanize™
Galvanize Therapeutics aims to become the global leader in
delivering medical technology innovations that drive biologic
processes to treat a range of diseases, including solid tumors and
chronic bronchitis symptoms. Formed by ATP (Apple Tree Partners),
Galvanize is based in Redwood City, Calif., and is developing
and commercializing its revolutionary Aliya® PEF energy
platform in the United
States. For more information, please
visit www.galvanizetx.com.
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SOURCE Galvanize Therapeutics, Inc.