BiVacor this week announced that former Abiomed executive Thomas Vassiliades was appointed CEO, effective immediately.
Prior to joining the company, Vassiliades was most recently the general manager of the surgery and heart failure business at Abiomed.
He has also served as the chief medical officer of the coronary and structural heart business of Medtronic, and as the chief medical officer and integration lead for Medtronic’s mechanical circulatory support effort in 2016. Vassiliades was a practicing cardiac surgeon for more than 18 years before joining the medical device industry.
“BiVacor led an extensive CEO search, and Tom was a clear choice given his experience, background, leadership style and exceptional track record,” BiVacor founder Daniel Timms said. “Tom has the skillset and credibility to guide BiVacor through its next chapter of transformation and advancement as we undertake the next stage of clinical activities leading up to first in human early feasibility studies.”
Timms will remain involved with the company’s operations and maintain his role as chief technical officer. He will focus on the technical development of the total artificial heart system.
“I am excited and honored to join the BiVacor team, working closely with Daniel and the entire team as we look forward to bringing this life-changing technology to the market,” Vassiliades said. “Throughout my career, I’ve been guided by the goal of bringing innovative cardiovascular therapies to the market to improve patient care and outcomes – providing solutions for those that don’t have one. BiVacor is uniquely well-positioned to provide long-term therapy for patients with severe biventricular heart failure.”
BiVacor makes a total artificial heart that is designed for long-term therapy for patients with severe biventricular heart failure. The device is an implantable total artificial heart based on rotary blood pump technology. It is similar in size to an adult fist, but small enough to be implanted in many women and some children.