– USA, FL – InnFocus, Inc. reports Director Randy Lindholm has been named Chairman of the Board. Mr. Lindholm was previously Chairman of the Board and CEO of Vidamed, until it was acquired by Medtronic. He was also Chairman of the Board of Crux Biomedical, until it was acquired by Volcano Corporation/Royal Philips. He has excellent experience in corporate financings and exits, and he has also served on numerous other medical device company boards including Barrx Medical, Estech, Microvention, Rita Medical, and Novasys Medical. Mr. Lindholm currently serves as a Director for publicly held Omnicell.
“InnFocus is uniquely positioned relative to all other glaucoma technologies, which makes for an exceptional investment opportunity. I am excited to become Chair at a time when the company is poised to take advantage of the current high level of interest in our glaucoma device. I look forward to assisting in optimizing our continued progress, and fully developing our strategic alternatives,” said Lindholm, who has been on the InnFocus Board since 2013.
The Company also announced Tim Willis, previous President and CEO of TearScience, has joined the Board of Directors, and will head up the Committee for External Financing. He has more than 30 years experience in ophthalmology, having helped seven company startups, and has raised over $120M in funding. He is a member of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, the Association of Research in Vision and Optics, the Licensing Executive Society, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry.
“I am excited to serve on the InnFocus Board since they are achieving clinical results not seen before in the glaucoma medical device space,” said Willis.
Founder Leonard Pinchuk remains Chairman Emeritus and will continue to lead the Company in product development.
“Having Tim and Randy in these new roles expands and strengthens our financing capabilities,” said Russ Trenary, President and CEO of InnFocus. Trenary announced on Monday, April 13th that InnFocus has reached the important 75 patient treatment milestone required to file for approval to enter the final phase of its FDA trial. The Company says it expects to begin the final clinical phase later this year.
The InnFocus MicroShunt is showing promising clinical results. The Company is following over 160 patients, implanted by over 20 surgeons in six countries outside the U.S., with up to three years follow-up. The patients are showing a sustained intraocular pressure less than or equal to 14 mmHg, which according to the AGIS study is the approximate average cutoff for no further optic nerve damage and vision loss. Also, medication reduction in these patients has decreased from almost three eye drops per patient to less than one with over 70% of the patients now totally off of glaucoma medication.
Glaucoma affects over 78 million people worldwide. The disease is a serious health care problem that is not always easy to diagnose, and is often difficult to treat successfully. The InnFocus MicroShunt® addresses the largest patient segment in glaucoma.
The InnFocus MicroShunt® has been implanted alone or in combination with cataract surgery in clinical trials outside the United States. It was developed in collaboration with the University of Miami’s Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. The device provides a quick and simple method of shunting aqueous humor from the anterior chamber to a diffuse bleb without the need for a scleral flap.
It uses a patented micro-shunt made from the innovative SIBS material to control flow. The mechanism of action for the MicroShunt of subconjunctival/Tenons drainage has been the accepted gold standard. The Company’s revolutionary SIBS material is ultra-stable, will not degrade and has a 13-year proven history in drug eluting coronary stents.
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