HeartStitch® Announces Appointment Of New President

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., April 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Members of the Board of Directors and the Executive Management Team have approved the appointment of Dru Dobbs as HeartStitch, Inc.'s new President.  Effective immediately, Mr. Dobbs will officially assume the duties as President and will continue to oversee the manufacturing of the company's current product line which includes the NobleStitch EL Suture-Based Closure System, the Coap Pro for the repair of the Mitral Valve, the Remo Pro for trans-apical access and closure and the many new products being launched in Europe and the US in the coming years. Mr. Dobbs will be filling the position which is being vacated by current President, Richard Bjorkman who has asked to step down as President of HeartStitch, Inc. in order to spend more time with his family. He will continue to be a part of HeartStitch, Inc. in the CFO position as a contractor to the company.

Mr. Bjorkman has expressed confidence in his successor, Dru Dobbs. Mr. Bjorkman stated: "I have watched Dru grow in his role of VP Manufacturing and Operations, handling both operational and personnel issues in a professional manner. He has a level of maturity beyond his years that will serve both him and HeartStitch well as the Company continues to grow."

Mr. Richard Babcock, Director and corporate counsel for HeartStitch commented: "Mr. Dobbs has demonstrated his ability to lower costs, improve quality and manage the growing staff of HeartStitch. His efforts have had an impact on the overall success of the products and the enterprise value of the company. The members of the Board, and myself in particular, believe Dru will help make HeartStitch the leader in the structural heart market."

Dru Dobbs, President of HeartStitch commented, “It is a great honor to be selected to lead this talented group of people, over the past two years I have had the opportunity to implement new manufacturing, quality and corporate changes to help HeartStitch increase productivity, efficiency and lower cost while maintaining our Safety and Risk Management activities. Seeing the NobleStitch™ EL grow and have such a positive impact on people’s lives is the true motivation we bring with us to work every day. Seeing this widespread impact on the world this device has had in such a short time excites me for all of our future devices and projects soon to come. HeartStitch started as a whisper and is rising to become the prevalent Gold Standard and I am excited to be part of it.”

Prof. Anthony Nobles, Chairman, CEO and chief Clinical Specialist of HeartStitch stated: "Mr. Dobbs has demonstrated a level of professionalism over the past years he has worked at HeartStitch that exceeds that of executives with 20 years experience. I have been impressed with his problem solving, people skills and mostly his ability to listen, learn and quickly apply what is needed to run a medical device company. HeartStitch is growing rapidly with its recent success of the NobleStitch. Dru has been responsible for the scalability of the product and will be overseeing all of our facilities around the world. I am confident in his ability to lead HeartStitch into the next phase of its growth toward establishing our company as a leader in safety and quality while meeting the objectives of the Board and its shareholders."

About HeartStitch^®
HeartStitch^® Inc. was founded by Prof. Anthony Nobles with the intent of leveraging its technologies in the structural heart marketplace.  HeartStitch^® is focused on the innovative suture-based systems for remotely providing suture repair of structural heart defects and other vascular structures.  HeartStitch^® currently markets under license the NobleStitch™ EL device for cardiovascular suturing and PFO closure. HeartStitch™ develops new structural heart technologies through its international innovation development teams in California, Kazakhstan and Germany.

The HeartStitch^® Access Pro (formally HeartStitch^® TA) and the HeartStitch^® Coap Pro (formally the HeartStitch^® MR) are FDA cleared for vascular suturing in the United States.

HeartStitch^® is a registered trademark of HeartStitch, Inc.

HeartStitch^® Access Pro
Covered by or for use under U.S. and international patents including one or more of U.S. Patent Nos. 5860990, 6117144, 6245079, 6551331, 6562052, 6733509, 7004952, 7090686, 7803167, 8197497, 8348962, 8469975, 8496676, and 8709020.

HeartStitch^® Coap Pro
Covered by or for use under U.S. and international patents including one or more of U.S. Patent Nos. 5860990, 6117144, 6245079, 6551331, 6562052, 6733509, 7004952, 7090686, 7803167, 8197497, 8348962, 8469975, 8496676, 8709020, and 8771296.

NobleStitch™ EL
Covered by or for use under U.S. and international patents including one or more of U.S. Patent Nos. 5860990, 6117144, 6245079, 6551331, 6562052, 6733509, 7004952, 7090686, 7803167, 8197497, 8197510, 8246636, 8348962, 8372089, 8469975, 8496676, 8709020, and 9131938.

For more on HeartStitch^® visit www.HeartStitch.com

The NobleStitch™ is approved for PFO Closure and Cardiovascular suturing in the European Union. 

The NobleStitch™ EL is FDA cleared for Vascular and Cardiovascular suturing in the United States.  Further information including warnings and precautions can be found in the instructions for use.

NobleStitch™ EL is distributed worldwide by HeartStitch^®, Inc. (HeartStitch^® is a registered trademark of HeartStitch, Inc.).

NobleStitch™ EL
Covered by or for use under U.S. and international patents including one or more of U.S. Patent Nos. 5860990, 6117144, 6245079, 6551331, 6562052, 6733509, 7004952, 7090686, 7803167, 8197497, 8197510, 8246636, 8348962, 8372089, 8469975, 8496676, 8709020, and 9131938.

SOURCE HeartStitch

Related Links

http://www.heartstitch.com