Access Vascular Appoints Medtech Veteran Heather Simonsen to Board of Directors
July 09 2024 - 7:07AM
Business Wire
Access Vascular, Inc. (AVI) today announced the appointment of
Heather Simonsen to its Board of Directors, strengthening the
company's mission to eliminate life-threatening complications
associated with vascular access.
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Heather Simonsen (Photo: Business
Wire)
Millions of patients suffer every year from infections, blood
clots, and vessel irritation caused by intravenous catheters. These
complications lead to extended hospital stays, increased healthcare
costs, and – in severe cases – loss of life. Access Vascular's
proprietary MIMIX® technology aims to make these risks
obsolete.
Simonsen, who is President and CEO of Boomerang Medical, is a
recognized leader in the medtech industry, with a proven track
record of steering venture-funded startups to commercial success.
Her career spans leadership roles in multiple medical device
companies, including PQ Bypass, which she led to a successful exit
in 2021, and executive positions at Abbott and Johnson &
Johnson.
“Heather's appointment to our board adds invaluable strategic
insight and expertise,” said James Biggins, President and CEO of
Access Vascular. “Her three decades in healthcare, including more
than 20 years of experience in advancing vascular technologies from
clinical stages through commercialization, will be crucial in
shaping our growth strategy and maximizing shareholder value.”
AVI developed a novel hydrophilic biomaterial (HBM), MIMIX®,
that mimics the body’s natural chemistry to evade the foreign body
response and its associated complications. Data from studies of
catheters made using MIMIX (the HydroPICC®, HydroPICC® Dual, and
HydroMID® device) show lower rates of the most common and costly
complications associated with vascular access devices.
"Access Vascular's approach isn't just incremental – it's
transformative," Simonsen said. "By developing catheters that the
body recognizes as 'self' rather than foreign, we can potentially
eliminate the root cause of most IV complications. This technology
has the potential to dramatically improve patient outcomes. I'm
honored to join AVI's distinguished board and look forward to
working alongside this talented group to guide the company through
its next phase of growth and innovation."
Clinical data shows that AVI's FDA-cleared devices result in 6
times fewer complications than standard catheters while in vitro
data demonstrates reduced bacterial adhesion by 99.99%.1,2 For
patients, this could mean fewer infections, less time in the
hospital, and reduced risk of long-term health issues.
About Access Vascular
Access Vascular was founded to address the most common and
costly complications of intravenous therapy: infection, thrombosis,
and phlebitis. Taking a foundationally different approach to
thrombus reduction, the company manufactures intravenous catheters
from a hydrophilic material. Engineered to mimic the body’s natural
chemistry, Access Vascular catheters are designed to evade the
foreign body response and complications that come with it. Our
award-winning, FDA-cleared products are HydroPICC® and HydroMID®.
For more information, please visit our website, and follow us on
LinkedIn.
_____________________________ 1 Bunch J. A retrospective
assessment of peripheral midline failures focusing on catheter
composition. J InfusNurs. Sept/Oct 2022; 45(5):270-27 2 LeRoy, K.
J. 2023 Association for Vascular Access Scientific Meeting: Poster
Abstracts. Journal of the Association for Vascular Access 1 May
2024; 29 (2): 51–66. doi:
https://doi.org/10.2309/1557-1289-29.2.51
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Brad Perriello Circle Hill Communications
brad@circlehillcommunications.com 617.817.1385