Highly experienced US medtech leader brings more than 40 years’ experience
Ghent, Belgium – 19 July 2022 – Sequana Medical NV (Euronext Brussels: SEQUA) (the “Company” or “Sequana Medical“), a pioneer in the treatment of drug-resistant fluid overload in liver disease and heart failure, today announces the appointment of Doug Kohrs as an independent Non-Executive Director of the Company. Mr. Kohrs is a highly experienced US executive with a track record of more than 40 years in the medical device industry.
“Doug Kohrs brings tremendous experience to our Board from his many roles as a founder and executive of leading medical technology companies,” said Pierre Chauvineau, Chairman of the Board at Sequana Medical. “Doug’s arrival is perfectly timed as we build towards the commercial launch of alfapump® in North America and our ambition to list in the US. His extensive experience building successful medtech companies, with multiple financing and strategic transactions will be invaluable as we continue to grow our business.”
Mr. Kohrs added: “I look forward to working with the Sequana Medical Board and management team to successfully bring the alfapump and DSR treatments to patients in need. Drug-resistant fluid overload is a big challenge, particularly in the US where NASH is an increasing problem and each year 200,000 heart failure patients are repeatedly hospitalized with fluid overload. Based on real world patient experiences and clinical trial results, I believe that Sequana Medical is well-positioned to help these patients.”
Mr. Kohrs currently serves as the President and CEO of Responsive Arthroscopy, a company he founded that focusses on innovative surgical solutions for orthopedic surgery centers. In 2013, he also founded Responsive Orthopedics, a value-based medical device company, where he served as CEO until it was acquired by Medtronic in June 2016. From 2006 to 2012, he was CEO and President of Tornier NV, and from 1999 to 2005 he was CEO and President of American Medical Systems. Mr. Kohrs was also a founder of Spine Tech, a pioneering spinal surgery company, where he worked in R&D and Marketing roles from 1991 to 1998. Prior to that, he spent seven years with Johnson and Johnson Orthopedics as the Chief Designer for the Press Fit Condylar (PFC) knee and PFC hip systems.
Mr. Kohrs currently serves on the Board of Directors of Cerapedics, Lima Orthopedics, Osteal Therapeutics, UroTronic, and Vergent Bioscience. Mr. Kohrs has previously served on the public company boards of ev3 (acquired by Covidien), Kyphon (acquired by Medtronic), and Protolabs, and the private company boards of Imascap (acquired by Wright Medical), Pioneer Surgical (acquired by RTI Surgical), SpineCore (acquired by Stryker), and five other boards. Mr. Kohrs holds a B.S. in Bioengineering from Texas A&M University, a B.A. in Engineering Sciences from Austin College and an MBA from Northeastern University.
The appointment of Mr. Kohrs is subject to the approval of the Board of Directors and will also be submitted for approval to the Company’s next Meeting of Shareholders. His appointment is effective as of today.
For more information, please contact:
Sequana Medical
| For EU investors: | For US investors: |
| Lies Vanneste | Amy Sullivan |
| Director Investor Relations | Consultant to Sequana Medical |
| Email: IR@sequanamedical.com | Email: amy.sullivan@sequanamedical.com |
| Tel: +32 498 05 35 79 |
Optimum Strategic Communications
| For media: |
| Nick Bastin, Rebecca Noonan |
| Tel: +44 (0) 20 3922 0900 |
| Email: Sequana@optimumcomms.com |
About Sequana Medical
Sequana Medical NV is a pioneer in treating drug-resistant fluid overload, a serious and frequent clinical complication in patients with liver disease and heart failure. Fluid overload is a well-recognized problem in these growing diseases, causing severe problems for the large number of patients for whom current medicines are no longer effective. These patients can have up to 15 liters of extra fluid in their bodies, causing major medical issues including increased mortality, repeated hospitalizations, severe pain, difficult breathing and restricted mobility that severely impacts daily life.
alfapump® and DSR® are Sequana Medical’s proprietary approaches that work with the body to remove this excess fluid, delivering major clinical and quality of life benefits for patients and reducing costs for healthcare systems. Sequana Medical is listed on Euronext Brussels (Ticker: SEQUA.BR) and headquartered in Ghent, Belgium. For further information, please visit www.sequanamedical.com.
Important Regulatory Disclaimers
The alfapump® system is not currently approved in the United States or Canada. In the United States and Canada, the alfapump system is currently under clinical investigation (POSEIDON Study) and is being studied in adult patients with refractory or recurrent ascites due to cirrhosis. For more information regarding the POSEIDON clinical study see www.poseidonstudy.com. DSR® therapy is still in development and it should be noted that any statements regarding safety and efficacy arise from ongoing pre-clinical and clinical investigations which have yet to be completed. DSR therapy is not currently approved for clinical research in the United States or Canada. There is no link between DSR therapy and ongoing investigations with the alfapump system in Europe, the United States or Canada.
Note: alfapump® is a registered trademark. DSR® and alfapump DSR® are registered trademarks in the Benelux, China, the EU, United Kingdom, and Hong Kong.
Forward-looking statements
This press release may contain predictions, estimates or other information that might be considered forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. These forward-looking statements represent the current judgment of Sequana Medical on what the future holds, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Sequana Medical expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements in this press release, except if specifically required to do so by law or regulation. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which reflect the opinions of Sequana Medical only as of the date of this press release.
