CAMPBELL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ZipLine Medical (www.ziplinemedical.com), an emerging medical device company that is developing a platform technology — PRELOC™ (Pre-placementRE-aligning Low-tensionClosure) — for noninvasive surgical skin closure designed to provide a suture-like outcome with the speed of staples, reported today that it appointed John R. Tighe as President and CEO in the third quarter of 2011.
ZipLine Medical also announced that it closed a Series “B” funding round for $5 million in the third quarter of 2011. The lead investors were Claremont Creek Ventures and X/Seed Capital Management. Total funding in ZipLine Medical is now $6 million. Proceeds from the Series “B” financing are being used to complete product development and establish commercial operations.
“John Tighe is a serial CEO who knows how to build and grow profitable companies,” said Amir Belson, M.D., Founder of ZipLine Medical. “We are very excited to emerge from stealth mode with a highly experienced CEO who has an outstanding track record of achievement.”
“I see important similarities between the ZipLine Medical opportunity and my experience at PEAK Surgical,” added Mr. Tighe. “For example, both companies have platforms with large target markets and broad applications across major medical specialties. This kind of wide-open possibility is rare among medical device companies. And, too, I was the first employee at PEAK and the third employee at ZipLine, so I understand what it takes to build a growth-oriented and profitable company from scratch,” Tighe said.
“We want to work with great entrepreneurial teams who are committed to pursuing short innovation cycles. Certainly, John Tighe and ZipLine personify those characteristics,” said Ted Driscoll, Ph.D., a Technology Partner at Claremont Creek Ventures.
“We back driven leaders who are pursuing breakthrough innovations at their company’s earliest stages. The ZipLine product family will meet a critical market need for improved convenience for both patients and doctors with best-in-class cosmetic outcomes,” said Robert Siegel, a General Partner at X/Seed Capital Management.
Prior to being recruited to ZipLine Medical, Mr. Tighe was a Director and President and CEO of PEAK Surgical, joining the company as its first employee in June 2006. In July 2011, he negotiated the acquisition of PEAK Surgical by Medtronic. Mr. Tighe was responsible for establishing clinical development and sales of PEAK’s novel radio frequency technology in a variety of surgical specialties, including General Surgery, ENT, Orthopedics, and Plastic Surgery. Prior to joining PEAK, he served as Senior Vice President and General Manager at Arthrocare Corp., where he managed the company’s three business units, comprised of Sports Medicine, ENT, and Spine. During his time at the company, Arthrocare was one of the fastest-growing publicly traded medical device companies. Mr. Tighe is a member of the Community Advisory Board of El Camino Hospital of Los Gatos (CA), and earned a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Maryland.
ZipLine Medical (www.ziplinemedical.com), headquartered in Campbell, Calif., is an emerging medical device company that has developed a platform technology — PRELOC™ (Pre-placementRE-aligning Low-tensionClosure) — for noninvasive surgical skin closure via a simple, easy-to-learn and easy-to-use device. Because skin-closure is a common denominator of almost all surgeries, ZipLine’s PRELOC platform for the pre-placement, reapproximation and low-tension realignment of skin tissue has broad applicability across numerous medical specialties. There is an existing $4.2 billion worldwide market opportunity covering most surgical procedures involving skin incision. ZipLine’s initial target applications include: C-section, laparotomy, pacemaker/ICD implant, laparoscopic port, orthopedic, and excisional skin biopsy closure.
NOTICE: ZipLine™ devices are classified by the U.S. FDA as ‘Class I, Exempt.’ The Company has confirmation of FDA determination of this classification on file.
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Ronald Trahan Associates Inc.
Ronald Trahan, APR, +1 508-359-4005
