Medtronic veteran named CEO of medtech startup Versa Vascular
Versa Vascular, a California-based medtech company focused on tricuspid valve disease, has named Bill Shields its new CEO.
Shields is a 15-year veteran of Medtronic’s structural heart division, most recently serving as vice president and general manager of transcatheter mitral and tricuspid therapies. He also has years of experience with Stryker as a senior engineer developing new orthopedic technologies. Back in September, Versa Vascular announced that David Hovda would be the company’s CEO. Hovda is now retiring from that role, but he will stay on as an advisor.
Versa Vascular launched in 2020, coming out of the Occam Labs medtech incubator. The company’s flagship offering at this time is its AdapTR transcatheter tricuspid repair device. A first-in-human study of that device is currently underway.
“I am thrilled to join Versa Vascular at a time when we are seeing positive results clinically, close to expanding our clinical work to the United States, and receiving continued investor confidence,” Shields in a statement. “I have seen and launched a number of innovative transcatheter devices in my career, and the AdapTR technology shows similar promise to create a superior therapy for patients. I want to thank David Hovda and the team for their commitment to product development and refinement that has led to a truly novel solution that is showing it can have a positive impact on patients' lives.”
On LinkedIn, Shields shared a statement reflecting on his years with Medtronic.
“I leave Medtronic with tremendous gratitude for the people who made those 15 years so meaningful,” he wrote. “To the mentors, colleagues, and teammates I had the privilege of working alongside—thank you. You taught me countless lessons, challenged me to grow, and created friendships that I know will last well beyond my time at the company.”
Additional Series C funding
Versa Vascular also announced that it has now raised $42 million in Series C funding. The company previously announced that total to be $27.3 million, but it secured an additional $15 million. The new funds are expected to go toward completing clinical research on the AdapTR device and additional product development.
Michael has more than 19 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.