OCTANe Innovation Series: Emerging Therapies in Spinal Intervention – Hosted by Jim Corbett, CEO of Vertos Medical

Spinal Intervention is one of the most dynamic areas of medical technology.  This program will provide an overview of the most significant advances in spinal intervention as well as profiles of some of the local emerging technologies.

Moderator:

- Jim Corbett, CEO, Vertos Medical

Panelists:

- Dr. Vance Johnson, Physician in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Loma Linda University Hospital

- Pete Davis, Vice President of Research & Development, Magellan Spine Technologies, Inc.

- R. Sean Pakbaz, MD, Associate Professor of Radiology and Neurointerventional Surgery and Associate Section Chief of Neurointerventional Surgery at University of California in San Diego

Biographies:

Jim Corbett, CEO, Vertos Medical

The moderator of this program is Jim Corbett, CEO of Aliso Viejo based Vertos Medical.   Founded in 2005, Vertos Medical, Inc., is a medical device company focused on providing minimally invasive alternatives for surgical procedures to treat debilitating spinal conditions such as lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS).

The company pioneered mild (Minimally Invasive Lumbar Decompression) as well as minimally invasive interventional devices used in the treatment of LSS, a condition diagnosed in more than 1.5 million individuals in the U.S. each year.

Clinical results of mild in patients with moderate-to-severe LSS demonstrated improved mobility and decreased pain. The goal of Vertos Medical is to be the logical first approach for certain LSS patients — providing them with the benefit of a lumbar decompression surgical procedure but with local anesthesia, shorter operation and quicker recovery times.

Jim has more than 28 years of leadership experience in the medical device field.  Mr. Corbett’s specialties include Strategy Development and Implementation, Sales and Marketing Worldwide, Manufacturing (Start-up and Multi-plant), Total Quality Management, Research and Development, Financial Management (Cost, Tax, and Operating), Technology License and Acquisition, Acquisitions (Execution and integration), Managing Consolidation, Patent Litigation Management, Capital Structure, Public and Private Debt and Equity.

Dr. Vance Johnson, Physician in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Loma Linda University Hospital

The program will also feature Dr. Vance Johnson an attending physician in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Loma Linda University Hospital in Riverside, CA.  Dr. Johnson is an expert in exercise physiology, the management of chronic pain and spinal disorders, and the emerging treatment alternatives.  He will be able to provide a comprehensive overview of the emerging therapies in this space.

Pete Davis, Vice President of Research & Development, Magellan Spine Technologies, Inc.

Pete leads the Magellan organization.  He was hired to implement a product development strategy and accelerate initial human use for Magellan’s Disc Annular Reconstruction Technology.  Magellan is seeking Series C funding to demonstrate product superiority and validate a European sales model.

Prior to joining Magellan, Pete was Director of Engineering for ROX Medical, a start-up COPD company in Orange County, where he led product development to initial human use and product management to achieve regulatory approvals.  Pete was also responsible for Operations at ROX.

Pete has spent much of his career working in the vascular space holding positions with Arterial Vascular Engineering, acquired by Medtronic, and Microtherapeutics, acquired by ev3.  In each company Pete led product development for high growth products including stents, liquid embolics and accessory products.  Pete has worked intimately with physicians supporting product development, technology adoption and training and broadening product clinical applications.

Pete received a Bachelor of Arts in Physics/Math from Wittenberg University and a Masters Degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Tennessee, Memphis Health Science Center.  Pete holds numerous patents in various medical fields.

R. Sean Pakbaz, MD, Associate Professor of Radiology and Neurointerventional Surgery and Associate Section Chief of Neurointerventional Surgery at UCSD

Dr. Sean Pakbaz is Associate Professor of Radiology and Neurointerventional Surgery and Associate Section Chief of Neurointerventional Surgery at University of California in San Diego. Dr.Pakbaz completed a Neuroradiology fellowship at William Beaumont Hospital in Detroit Michigan and a Neurointerventional fellowship with Dr John Hesselink and Dr. Charles Kerber at University of California San Diego (UCSD) Medical Center. Upon completing two fellowships, he developed a private practice program, one of the first in the country.  By practicing at multiple hospitals, Dr. Pakbaz was able to care for the community and actively educate physicians as to the minimally invasive procedures that can benefit patients, shorten hospital stays and minimize side effects. At UCSD he has the privilege of training physicians by providing them the opportunity to have hands on experience with structured guidance.  He has also established a busy spine and neurointerventional practice at Kaiser Hospital to address the HMOs that have become a significant part of the community. It is here that he focused on the very basic concept of patient care and better understands the obstacles of practicing in a non-academic setting.

A particular area of specialty for Dr. Pakbaz is research in spine interventions. This involves basic laboratory, animal and clinical research both locally and internationally.  Spine interventional procedures are a rapidly growing area requiring maintenance of the highest skill level and art to help patients obtain the best possible outcomes.   He serves as an active member of ASSR, ASSR research committee and is the current chair of the education committee.

Sponsored By: Vertos Medical