Saluda Medical Appoints Jim Schuermann as President and Robert Gaffney as Chief Operating Officer

Strengthens corporate leadership as company moves toward global commercialization

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Jun 09, 2020, 08:00 ET

ARTARMON, Australia, June 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Saluda Medical Pty Limited ("Saluda Medical"), a global neuromodulation company leading the development and commercialization of data-driven, personalized therapies for patients with debilitating neurological disorders, today announced the key leadership appointments of Jim Schuermann as President and Robert Gaffney as Chief Operating Officer. This effectively expands and strengthens the corporate management team as the Company moves toward TGA and FDA approval and global commercialization.

Mr. Schuermann and Mr. Gaffney will report to Chief Executive Officer John Parker. As President, Mr. Schuermann will be responsible for the global commercial and clinical strategy and execution of corporate objectives. As COO, Mr. Gaffney will be responsible for Saluda Medical's manufacturing, operations, and product development.

John Parker, CEO of Saluda Medical, commented, "Jim and Bob bring to Saluda a wealth of knowledge, experience, and successful track records. They have launched innovative medical technology and built med-tech companies, and are welcome additions at this pivotal time for Saluda as we continue commercial launch of our Evoke^® SCS System in Europe and execution of our FDA clinical trial."

Mr. Schuermann brings over 25 years of extensive healthcare and medical device leadership experience to Saluda Medical. Prior to joining Saluda, Mr. Schuermann was Chief Business Officer at Avedro, which executed its initial public offering and then was acquired by Glaukos in 2019. Prior to Avedro, he was Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at HeartWare, which had its initial public offering on the ASX and later was listed on the NASDAQ until it was acquired by Medtronic. Mr. Schuermann stayed on post-acquisition as Vice President and General Manager of Medtronic's Mechanical Circulatory Support Division, a newly formed business unit in the Cardiac & Vascular Group. Prior to HeartWare, he held a number of senior leadership roles at Boston Scientific and started his medical device career at Sherwood Medical. Mr. Schuermann holds an MBA degree from Golden Gate University and a BS from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.

Mr. Gaffney brings over 30 years of experience in the medical device arena, including operations, product development, business development, and quality with minimally invasive, implantable, and diagnostic products. Mr. Gaffney's previous experience includes key management positions in several start-ups as well as established companies, including President and Chief Executive Officer of SacraMed, Vice President of Operations at InCube Labs, Chief Operating Officer at Spinal Modulation where he led the successful acquisition by St. Jude Medical, and Vice President of Operations at Satiety. He has also held leadership roles at Cordis Corp., Ventritex, and Avocet Medical. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and an MBA from Pepperdine University.

About Saluda Medical

Saluda Medical is a global neuromodulation company leading the development and commercialization of data-driven, personalized therapies for patients with chronic pain. The company's first product, Evoke^®, is a closed-loop spinal cord stimulator (SCS) system designed to treat chronic pain, a condition that affects more than 546 million people globally. SCS treats the condition by stimulating the spinal cord and altering the transmission of pain signals to the brain. Evoke is designed to optimize pain relief by measuring and recording each patient's unique response to stimulation, and then making millions of real-time adjustments per day to maintain a consistent level of therapy.

In the EU, Evoke is CE Marked and commercially available. In the U.S., Evoke is currently under investigation through the first double-blinded, randomized, controlled U.S. pivotal study in SCS and is not commercially available. Saluda Medical is a privately held company with headquarters in Artarmon, New South Wales, Australia and offices in Bloomington, MN, USA and Harrogate, UK. To learn more, visit www.saludamedical.com and connect with us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/saluda-medical/.

SOURCE Saluda Medical