Switzerland's Endosense has named Jan Keltjens as president and CEO. He replaces Eric Le Royer, who is retiring from Endosense after leading the firm from its first venture capital financing 7 years ago.
Under Keltjens' leadership, Endosense will focus on the global commercialization of TactiCath, which, according to the company, is the first contact-force sensing ablation catheter. Endosense is enrolling patients in its TOCCASTAR IDE clinical trial, the results of which will be used to support a PMA filing in the U.S., according to a statement.
"Endosense is creating a breakthrough in the field of catheter ablation with its TactiCath contact-force sensing catheter, which gives physicians critical therapeutic information to improve procedure safety and effectiveness. We believe this new technology will have a profound, positive impact on clinical practice, benefiting both patients and physicians, and we are delighted that Jan has agreed to join Endosense to help the company deliver on this promise," said Jan Egberts, chairman of the Endosense board of directors.
Keltjens' name may be familiar to many. Back in June, he stepped down as CEO of AngioDynamics ($ANGO) after the company reported flat sales for the fiscal year and lower Q4 net sales of approximately $56.4 million versus $60.3 million during the same period 2010. Keltjens had joined AngioDynamics roughly two years prior to his resignation after serving as president and CEO of Montreal-based CryoCath Technologies, which was acquired by Medtronic for $380 million in November 2008. Keltjens had succeeded Eamonn Hobbs, who helped make AngioDynamics into a $200 million company. Joseph DeVivo, formerly global president of Smith & Nephew Orthopedics, became AngioDynamics' president and CEO as of Sept. 7.
Aside from serving as CEO of AngioDyamics and CryoCath, Keltjens also held a number of senior positions at Cordis.
- see the Endosense release