Navroze S. Mehta, Managing Director
Navroze Mehta is the Founder and Vice Chairman of NovaVision Inc., a venture backed neurostimulation medical device company that restores vision in stroke and traumatic brain injury patients.
Navroze Mehta has 15 years of experience managing life science and technology companies. Mehta co-founded NovaVision in 2002, guiding the company through the FDA clearance of its Vision Restoration Therapy (VRT) device, the accumulation of 50 Partner Centers and three rounds of financing. Before joining NovaVision, he co-founded Dermdex/Skinstore, a medical technology company that specialized in practice efficiency solutions for dermatologists and plastic surgeons. Mehta successfully managed the sale of Dermdex/Skinstore to Salu Inc; Skinstore currently has revenues over $40 million and was the 2006 recipient of Inc's 500 fastest growing companies in the US. Prior to co-founding Dermdex, Mr. Mehta was the president of Boca Global, a subsidiary of Boca Research, where he was responsible for directing the day-to-day operations of a $70 million NASDAQ company involved in developing internet appliances, thin client and data communications solutions. Before joining Boca Research in 1998, Mr. Mehta was president and CEO of Comark Communications, Inc. a high tech designer and manufacturer of television transmission systems and a wholly owned subsidiary of Thomson CSF, a $7 billion global electronics company.
Mr. Mehta received an MBA from Syracuse University and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Sydenham College at the University of Bombay, India. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the State of New York, a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and past chairman of America’s Gateway Chapter (YPO) in Miami.
Edward Boyle M.D. , Managing Director
Ed Boyle is an experienced cardiothoracic surgeon and medical device entrepreneur. Dr. Boyle currently serves as chief executive officer of Clear Catheter Systems, a privately held medical device company co-founded by MDI Partners to design, develop, manufacture, and market innovative devices to facillitate surgical drainage.
Prior to his current position, he led the Cardiovascular Vascular Biology research team at the University of Washington where he developed basic science and clinical research programs, primarily focusing on the study of tissue injury, coagulation and inflammation. He has published over 80 manuscripts in peer reviewed medical journals and textbooks. In addition to obtaining NIH funding, he played the lead role in developing research collaborations with Bayer’s Pharmaceutical Division, Genentech, Zymogenetics/Novo Nordisk, Icos Corporation, US Surgical Corporation (now Tyco Healthcare) and other privately held biotechnology and device companies. This research program was recognized nationally with awards from the American College of Surgeons, the American Heart Association, The Western Thoracic Surgery Association, the Seattle Surgical Society and others. Dr. Boyle was a founder of Elixis, a healthcare information technology company which was acquired by Data Critical Corporation (NASDAQ: DCCA), now a division of General Electric (NYSE: GE). Dr. Boyle is the founder of ClearCatheter Systems and Precision Thoracic Corporation, both early stage medical device companies where he is an inventor on a number of medical devices patent applications. He is board certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American College of Chest Physicians. He studied medicine at University of Minnesota Medical School, and trained in general surgery and cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Washington.
John F. Harris, Founder
John F. Harris is President and CEO of NeuroVista Corporation, an early stage medical device company developing technologies for the management and treatment of epilepsy.
Prior to his work with NeuroVista, John was a full-time consultant to Versant Ventures, a healthcare-dedicated venture capital firm with assets of $600 million where he helped assess medical device investment opportunities. Prior to his work at Versant, John was a founder and the vice president of marketing and business development for Northstar Neuroscience, a Seattle-based medical device company that he co-founded with Dr. Andrew Firlik that seeks to dramatically improve neurological recovery following stroke through targeted electrical stimulation of the brain. John is also the founder of Heartstream, a Seattle-based company that is revolutionizing the treatment of sudden cardiac arrest with uniquely designed defibrillators that make the deployment of these devices practical in a variety of settings. These heart defibrillators are now on all commercial aircraft in the U.S. as well as in public buildings, stadiums, arenas, and first responder vehicles and are responsible for saving thousands of lives. While at Heartstream, John held positions in finance, product management, business development, and marketing. Collectively, John has 16 years of experience in the development and commercialization of innovative medical device technologies. He received a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Stanford University and a master’s degree in business administration from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Andrew Firlik M.D., Founder
Andrew Firlik is a neurosurgeon and venture capitalist, currently a general partner at Foundation Medical Partners.
Dr. Firlik’s career spans neurosurgery, entrepreneurship, and venture capital. He joined Foundation Medical Partners to concentrate on medical device and biopharmaceutical investments. Prior to Foundation, he was a venture partner at Sprout Group and Managing Director of its healthcare technology spinout, New Leaf Venture Partners. Previously, he was a principal at Canaan Partners. Dr. Firlik has led numerous venture capital investments and has served as a founder, founding investor, or director of many companies, including Northstar Neuroscience, NeuroVista, Sopherion Therapeutics, Transoma, Omnisonics, Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Viacor, and Spine Wave.
Dr. Firlik is a founder and an inventor of the core technology platform of Northstar Neuroscience (NASDAQ: NSTR), a medical device company that is pioneering a novel approach to neuromodulation for the treatment of stroke and other disorders. He is currently the Chairman of NovaVision, a medical therapeutics firm focusing on neuroplasticity for visual disorders. He also currently serves on the board of directors of several companies, including NeuroVista, Spine Wave, Clear Catheter Systems, Intelect Medical, BridgePoint Medical, Innovative Metabolics, and Visiogen. Dr. Firlik is a member of the Industrial Advisory Board of Cleveland Clinic Innovations Center and the Administrative Board of the Cornell University Council and Chairman of its Technology Transfer Committee.
Dr. Firlik spent 12 years in the healthcare profession during his medical training and practice as a neurological surgeon. He has published more than 50 articles in the medical literature, written chapters for several medical textbooks, and is the co-editor of a book about cerebrovascular surgery. His scientific work has been presented at many international conferences. He has been an inventor of numerous patents.
He studied biology at Cornell University and Oxford University, received his MBA from the University of Pittsburgh, and his MD from Cornell University Medical College. As a board certified neurosurgeon, Dr. Firlik most recently served as Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at the New York University School of Medicine.
