Medical device innovation: From startups to blue chip companies


This event is part of the high profile external speaker seminar series provided as part of the Expert In Residence Scheme by the Medical Sciences Division, University of Oxford. (Prof Chris Cheng is the MSD "Expert in Residence" in Surgical Technologies)

9-10am, Jeff Elkins, President and CEO, Veniti Endovenous Therapies
“Experience, lessons, and advice: Insights from my own experience towards a career in medical device through start-ups and large companies”
Jeff Elkins’ career has spanned the range from engineer to CEO, working on pioneering technology for coronary balloon catheters, blood processing devices, peripheral vascular stents, aortic aneurysm endografts, renal drug delivery devices, endovascular anchors, and venous stents. He holds over 30 patents, has raised over $90M in venture capital and corporate financing, and has founded several start-ups that have culminated in successful acquisitions. He possesses a unique mix of experience from large multinational corporations and start-ups.

10-11am, Craig Bonsignore, VP Applied Technologies, Confluent Medical Technologies
“Innovating across borders: Advice on partnering in the medical device ecosystem”
Craig Bonsignore began his career at the dawn of a new era of interventional medicine, with the team that launched the Palmaz-Schatz Intracoronary Stent at Johnson & Johnson. He has designed and developed dozens of cardiovascular instruments and implants, and is an inventor on over 20 US patents. Craig worked for Johnson & Johnson for over a decade, started and ran a design consulting practice, and partners with companies large and small to design, develop, and manufacture innovative medical components with Confluent.

11am-12pm, Michael Dake, Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Stanford University
“How innovation is changing the future of medical intervention”
Prof. Dake is an internationally recognized pioneer of image-guided therapies, with numerous bold “firsts”. He was a pioneer in CT angiography, catheter-directed thrombolysis for lower extremity deep vein thrombosis, and stenting for venous obstruction. Perhaps most notably, Prof. Dake performed the world’s first thoracic stent-graft implantation at Stanford in 1992. His visionary approach to the treatment of vascular disease has permanently changed the face of cardiothoracic surgery, vascular surgery, interventional radiology and vascular medicine.