John B. Simpson MD,PhD

Friday, February 8,2019 ⋅6:00 – 8:30 pm

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

650 Page Mill Road

Palo Alto, CA 94304-1050

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(Pre-registration is required due to space limitations)

Agenda:

6:00 Registration and Name Tags, Social time, refreshments

6:30 Program Begins

7:30 Social time

8:30 Close

Dr. John Simpson was our USJMF keynote speaker in Tokyo and Shizuoka in 2018. He will be discussing his role in the evolution of the medical device industry and his view of the future of medical device innovation.

In his keynotes, he emphasized that his motivation for starting device companies is derived from his desire to treat patients. Dr. Simpson, with a track record of more than a half dozen start-ups, is most well-known as the father of over-the-wire angioplasty developed through his first company, Advanced Cardiovascular Systems Inc. (ACS), which was acquired by Guidant Corp.

This year is the 40th anniversary of ACS treating its first patient. .

Dr. Simpson has seen a number of his other start-ups acquired. For example, the atherectomy company, Devices for Vascular Intervention Inc. (DVI), which became part of Guidant after being sold to Eli Lilly & Co.; the ultrasound company, Cardiovascular Imaging Systems Inc. (CVIS), acquired by Boston Scientific Corp.; and the vascular closure company, Perclose Inc., acquired by Abbott Laboratories Inc.

January 3, 2019 Press Release

Ohio University and the National Academy of Engineering announced the 2019 Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ Prize will be given to Julio Palmaz, Leonard Pinchuk, John Simpson, Richard Schatz and Paul Yock for innovations leading to the widespread adoption of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), also known as angioplasty with stent or coronary angioplasty. The $500,000 biennial prize, which recognizes a bioengineering achievement that significantly improves the human condition, cites PCI for “seminal contributions to coronary angioplasty, enabling minimally invasive treatment of advanced coronary artery disease.”

“The Russ Prize recipients personify engineering creations that advance health and healthcare every day,” said NAE President C. D. Mote, Jr. “The PCI makes a remarkable contribution to patient well-being, helping millions afflicted with advanced coronary artery disease and significant angina. “

Ohio University alumnus and esteemed engineer Fritz Russ, BSEE ’42, HON ‘75, and his wife, Dolores Russ, established the biennial prize in 1999 with a multimillion dollar gift to Ohio University. They modeled it after the Nobel Prize, with the goal of recognizing bioengineering achievements worldwide that are in widespread use.

“This innovation — truly, sets of innovations — enables the treatment of coronary artery disease without the complexities, cost and risk of open heart surgery. Most of us have a friend or relative who has benefited greatly from angioplasty treatment,” said Russ College Dean Dennis Irwin. “These contributions have truly improved the human condition. Rewarding such innovations was the Russes’ intent.”

Percutaneous coronary intervention, also referred to as percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), is a minimally invasive procedure that uses a catheter to place a small structure called a stent to open up blood vessels in the heart that have been narrowed by plaque buildup. PCI improves blood flow, thus decreasing heart-related chest pain, making patients feel better and increasing their ability to be active. Ten of millions of patients have benefited from PCI worldwide, and this procedure has replaced or significantly delayed the need for open heart coronary bypass surgery.

"John Simpson has helped revolutionize the field of cardiology through innovations that fundamentally altered how physicians treat cardiovascular disease. In 1981 he created a new catheter system for coronary angioplasty with an independently steerable guidewire in the central lumen of the balloon catheter, patented as the over-the-wire balloon angioplasty catheter. He now focuses his efforts on the treatment of vascular disease through the development of new technologies combined with a new approach to optical imaging."