Mirabilis Medica Names Mike Connolly CEO
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mirabilis Medica, Inc., a privately-held medical device company, today named Mike Connolly as the company’s new president and chief executive officer. Connolly succeeds Mirabilis founding CEO Michael Lau, M.D., who will continue as the company’s Chief Medical Officer and Chairman of its board of directors. In his new role, Dr. Lau will turn his attention to facilitating the clinical development and testing of the company’s first product, an innovative system for image-guided non-invasive treatment of uterine fibroids.
“Mirabilis recently raised its first major financing, and is now poised to accelerate the commercialization of its unique technologies,” said Lau. “With his depth of knowledge in medical devices and proven track record in founding and growing start-up companies, Mike Connolly is the ideal person to lead Mirabilis through its next phase of development.”
Before joining Mirabilis, Connolly was a principal with venture capital firm vSpring Capital, where he led their New Mexico office and invested in early-stage life science and technology-based companies. Prior to vSpring, Mike cofounded 7 biomedical companies, including women’s healthcare company Novacept (acquired by Cytyc Corp.), and biomaterials company Cohesion Technologies (acquired by AngioTech Pharmaceuticals). Early in his career, Mike served as a Navy officer aboard a destroyer and a physics instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy. He holds a Stanford MBA, MIT M.S., U.S. Naval Academy B.S., and Professional Engineer license.
“Mirabilis’ innovative solutions will allow non-invasive treatment of conditions that have traditionally required invasive surgery,” said Connolly. “I welcome this opportunity to put a new tool in the hands of physicians that will allow them to effectively treat uterine fibroids – and eventually other conditions -- with minimal pain, recovery time, and cost.”
Mirabilis’ patented technology combines the application of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) under the guidance of conventional imaging (or “diagnostic”) ultrasound. This leading-edge technology is designed to allow the physician to accurately target and destroy pathological tissue deep within the body -- without cutting, puncturing or otherwise damaging normal tissue, and while carefully monitoring effects with real-time imaging. This unique ability to simultaneously see and non-invasively treat could facilitate office-based therapy for a wide variety of conditions. Mirabilis will initially target uterine fibroids, a common problem plaguing millions of women and causing many of them to seek hysterectomy. In September, Mirabilis closed a $4 million series A financing which was co-led by venture capital firms Charter Life Sciences and vSpring Capital.
“This transition reflects Dr. Lau’s success in guiding Mirabilis to this point,” said Nelson Teng, M.D., Ph.D., managing director of Charter Life Sciences. “His vision and determination have enabled the company to assemble its technology platform, begin preparing for human trials, and raise its first institutional financing. Mike Connolly’s expertise in growing early-stage medical device companies will ensure the company’s future success.”
About Mirabilis
Mirabilis Medica, based in Seattle, was founded in 2004 by Michael Lau, M.D., FACS, FACOG, Alexander Lebedev M.S., MBA, and Shahram Vaezy, Ph.D. The mission of Mirabilis (pronounced “ma-RA-ba-lis”) is to develop non-invasive solutions for conditions that have traditionally required invasive surgery. Dr. Vaezy was the lead inventor of the company’s patented technology, which was initially developed at University of Washington and exclusively licensed to Mirabilis. For more information, see www.mirabilismedica.com Contacts
Mirabilis Medica Alexander Lebedev, Director of Operations 206-313-4678 alebedev@mirabilismedica.com