Novian Health

  • About Us
    • Overview
    • Management
    • Board Of Directors
    • Investors
  • Research & Products
    • Novilase® Breast Therapy
    • Clinical Trials & Registries
    • Publications
    • Intellectual Property
  • News
    • News & Press Releases
    • Media Coverage
    • Upcoming Events
  • Contact
    • Careers

OVERVIEW

Novian Health is a privately held medical device company based in Chicago with a subsidiary in Evry, France.  It has developed the Novilase® Laser System, image-guided treatment that enables physicians to ablate tumors.  Novilase Breast Therapy uses parametrically controlled heating to ablate breast tumors with improved outcomes and lower costs versus surgery.

Novian was founded by Dr. Kambiz Dowlat, a former professor of surgery at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and a pioneer in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.  Early on he recognized that imaging would be able to detect earlier stage tumors and that a minimally invasive alternative to surgery would be beneficial for patients.  To his credit, Dr. Dowlat introduced stereotactic core needle biopsy into the U.S. (the most common type of breast biopsy) and developed the initial version of Novilase Breast Therapy.  Sadly, Dr. Dowlat passed away on March 17, 2022.  He is greatly missed and his Vision continues to drive us forward.

Data from a multicenter trial in the UK and U.S. that evaluated Novilase for ablation of small breast cancers was published in Annals of Surgical Oncology (see article here).  A parallel clinical trial is ongoing in France.

In Europe, Novian Health has received a CE Mark for treatment of malignant and benign breast tumors.  Novilase is the first thermal ablation device to be approved for focal destruction of breast cancer.

In the U.S., Novian Health has received FDA 510(k) clearance for the treatment of benign breast tumors (i.e., fibroadenomas) and ablation of soft tissue.  In addition, IDE approval has been received to launch the BR-003 confirmatory study, which the Company anticipates will support marketing clearance for focal destruction of malignant breast tumors.

Other tumor sites and indications are also being explored.

Novilase is a percutaneous, ultrasound-guided laser procedure that can be performed in a breast center with only local anesthesia, offering potentially significant advantages over surgery including minimal scarring, quicker recovery, and less pain or fatigue.  It may be performed by physicians (e.g., surgeons or radiologists) with experience in image-guided breast procedures (e.g., biopsies).

MANAGEMENT

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Henry “Chip” APPELBAUM 

President, Chief Executive Officer & Director

Mr. Appelbaum has more than 25 years of life sciences & biotech experience, including business development, marketing, sales, and management. He was appointed President & CEO of Novian Health in 2005 and has led the development of an image-guided, laser ablation therapy for treating tumors. He has successfully raised over $20 million and led the development of Novian’s manufacturing operations.

Previously, Chip spent five years as Vice President of Corporate Development at Source Precision Medicine, a molecular diagnostics startup he helped found and nine years at Amgen where he managed the business development department and then led the Infergen® launch team. Prior to Amgen, he served in a technology transfer role at Argonne National Laboratory and conducted contract research at Battelle. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and an S.M. in Chemical Engineering from MIT.

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Eugene BAJORINAS

Vice President of Operations

Mr. Bajorinas joined Novian Health in 2007 with more than 20 years of health care experience, including multi-site operations, marketing, strategic planning, and international business development. He also serves as managing director of European operations. In addition to assisting the CEO with fund-raising and strategic planning, he leads clinical trial operations.

Prior to joining Novian Health, he was Vice President of Marketing for Norton Healthcare, a $1.1 billion health system in Louisville, where he strengthened the brand and transformed the marketing function into one of the nation’s best. In San Francisco, as Regional Vice President Operations for TLC Laser Centers, he led the post-merger integration of two companies and was responsible for 12 surgery centers. As the Company’s first U.S. employee, Mr. Bajorinas previously helped launch Lasik Vision’s U.S. expansion and in less than a year grew his region to 12 de novo centers generating more than $50 million in revenue. Previously, he was Chief Operating Officer for California Laser Centers. Earlier, he led marketing, planning and international business development for Mercy Health System in Miami. He also has served on private boards. Mr. Bajorinas earned an MBA from the University of Miami and a B.Sc. from the University of Toronto.

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William GRAVEMAN

VP of Engineering & Development

Mr. Graveman is owner and CEO of Biomedical Devices of Kansas (BMDK), a design-build company which specializes in medical devices. Biomedical Devices of Kansas, is the engineering and development arm of Novian Health Inc., and developed and refined the Novilase system's design and technology. BMDK supports Novian Health's ongoing operations as well as the design and development of future products.

In 1987, Mr. Graveman founded Magnatech Engineering, Inc., a multi-disciplinary design and engineering firm specializing in industrial processes and industrial processing equipment. William serves as Magnatech's President and CEO and is active in all phases of engineering, production, design and development. He holds a number of patents and has authored numerous articles for various trade publications. Previously, Mr. Graveman worked under contract for the U.S. Department of Energy in the development and production of nuclear weapons and weapons testing equipment. He graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering.

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Julian ITZCOVITZ, Ph.D.

President, Novian Health, SAS

President of Novian Health SAS since 2011, Dr. Itzcovitz is a recognized expert in multi-modality imaging and image-guided, minimally invasive, interventional procedures. With more than 20 years of experience in medical devices and biotech, the last 10 were focused in thermal ablation.

He has been Principal Consultant with Venture Technologies for the past 9 years. He has worked with numerous companies to successfully launch medical devices in Europe and spin-off mature and innovative technologies from leading academic research institutions. Previously he served as GE Healthcare’s clinical research manager for Europe and was director of marketing and member of the board at Elscint. He earned a Ph.D. in nuclear physics at the Universite Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg.

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Stephen RHODES

Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance

Mr. Rhodes is a principal at Streamline Regulatory.  He has 29 years of experience in the regulation of medical devices and combination products. Prior to starting Streamline Regulatory in 2018, Mr. Rhodes worked as a Senior Consultant at Biologics Consulting Group.  Previously he had more than 20 years of experience with the Food and Drug Administration, Center for Devices and Radiological Health. Most recently, he was the Director of the Investigational Device Exemptions (IDE) and Humanitarian Device Exemptions (HDE) programs in the Office of Device Evaluation.

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John Lewin, M.D.

Chief Medical Officer

As a consultant to the company, Dr. Lewin provides oversight to the Company’s clinical activities. He is Division Chief, Breast Imaging at Yale School of Medicine and an Associate Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging. He completed his undergraduate and medical school education at Harvard followed by residency and breast imaging fellowship at the University of Colorado. Dr. Lewin has worked in both academic and private practice settings. His research accomplishments include the first clinical trial of digital mammography for screening and the development and first clinical demonstration of dual-energy contrast-enhanced mammography. He has served on many national radiology bodies including ACR’s ACRIN Working Group on Digital Mammography, its Breast MRI Lexicon Working Group and its Contrast Mammography BI-RADS Group. Dr. Lewin is principal investigator of the Novilase BR-003 clinical trial. He is currently the President for the Society of Breast Imaging (SBI).

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Barbara SCHWARTZBERG, M.D.

Medical Consultant

Dr. Schwartzberg is a consultant to the company. She is President and Co-Founder of Western Surgical Care, PC, a general surgical private practice in Denver, Colorado. Her practice specializes in the detection and treatment of breast cancer, treatment of varicose veins, and surgical management of atypical mycobacterium infections. Dr. Schwartzberg was the principal investigator in the Novilase BR-002 clinical trial.

She received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a master’s degree in pharmaceutical chemistry from Purdue University, and her medical degree from George Washington University.

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Henry “Chip” APPELBAUM -- President, CEO & Director Expand

Mr. Appelbaum has more than 25 years of life sciences & biotech experience, including business development, marketing, sales, and management. He was appointed President & CEO of Novian Health in 2005 and has led the development of an image-guided, laser ablation therapy for treating tumors. He has successfully raised over $20 million and led the development of Novian’s manufacturing operations.

Previously, Chip spent five years as Vice President of Corporate Development at Source Precision Medicine, a molecular diagnostics startup he helped found and nine years at Amgen where he managed the business development department and then led the Infergen® launch team. Prior to Amgen, he served in a technology transfer role at Argonne National Laboratory and conducted contract research at Battelle. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and an S.M. in Chemical Engineering from MIT.

Stephen BONNER -- Director Expand

Steve Bonner served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Inc. from 1999 until 2013. In 2013 he assumed the new role as Executive Chairman for CTCA and completed his role as a CTCA Executive in February of 2014. In 2014 Steve accepted a four-year appointment as an Entrepreneur in Residence at Harvard Business School’s Rock Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. He mentored students on healthcare, health policy, and health care innovation, and helped teach a second year MBA course on Innovation in Healthcare.

Prior to CTCA, Steve served as an Executive Vice President of Keyport Insurance Company where he led the development of a new annuity market. Before that he served as the President of the Construction Information Group of the McGraw-Hill Companies and as a Vice President of The Prudential Insurance Company of America, where he started the consumer banking units and led the marketing of annuities through external channels.

Steve is a longtime advocate for consumer-centric, quality-driven healthcare transformation that empowers patients with clear and thorough information and puts them at the center of their medical decisions. In 2012, Steve was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare by Modern Healthcare.

Steve graduated from Amherst College and has a law degree from William Mitchell College of Law.

Anthony LACENERE -- Director Expand

Anthony Lacenere, co-founder of iNetworks, LLC, provides leadership focused on cash-on-cash returns, based on an extensive experience portfolio in venture capital and private equity investing, medical device and other biomedical technology, and company operations. Prior to iNetworks, Mr. Lacenere was President of MDX Oncology, Inc., affiliated with Universal Health Services (UHS) of King of Prussia, PA, advising UHS with respect to its oncology-related investments and operations, including imaging, diagnostics and therapeutic projects. Prior to MDX, Mr. Lacenere was a principal on a management team in a leveraged buyout of American Sterilizer Company, a $300 million New York Stock Exchange listed company. As a principal of the buyout group, and the group’s dealmaker, he completed numerous transactions in the US, Europe and Asia.

A dual citizen of the United States and Italy, Mr. Lacenere is a member of the International Parents Council of McGill University, Montreal, Quebec. Mr. Lacenere holds an M.S. in Business Economics from Ohio State University (Graduate Research Fellow with Distinction) and a B.S. in Economics and Finance from the University of Dayton.

John REGAN -- Director Expand

John Regan is Managing Director at Energy Foundry, a Chicago based venture capital firm. He has more than 25 years of experience in the industry and has played key roles in early stage venture capital.

Prior to joining Energy Foundry, John was a Managing Director at Illinois Ventures, and is a founding member of the Illinois Emerging Technology Funds. His portfolio investments won numerous awards including MIT top 10 Technologies, EPA Product of the year and WSJ Annual Technology Innovation Award. While there, he helped grow the firm from start-up to $70 million under management.

Earlier in his career, John was Managing Director of Keystone Venture Capital and was the lead investor in several transactions as well as an active board member. Several of John’s investments were acquired or went public including CDNow.com, VST Technologies, Imaging Automation, Arnold Palmer Golf and EnvestNet.

John was an early member of Apex Venture Partners and made numerous investments including a manufacturer and specialty retailer, which grew over $200 million in revenue and a successful IPO. He started his career at General Dynamics where he received an Educational Fellowship, Emerald Recognition Award and held a top secret clearance.

John received a MBA from the University of Chicago. He also holds a MS and BS in General Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

IN MEMORIAM

Anthony TOMASELLO -- Chairman & Director Expand

With great sadness, we share the unexpected passing of our chairman and driving force, Tony Tomasello, on September 20, 2022.

The Novian Health team is mourning as we remember and celebrate Tony's life. Mr. Tomasello provided the initial investment into Novian Health. His vision for improving treatment for women with breast cancer drove the company's growth. Novian Health developed Novilase Laser Therapy, a minimally invasive procedure for destroying tumors. The first product, Novilase Breast Therapy, received a CE Mark and is set to launch in Europe in 2023.

We are proud to continue working to enable Tony's vision. We remember his legacy with gratitude and will contribute daily to the success of our patients, investors, and employees in his honor.

We invite you to read more of Mr. Tomasello's incredible life here: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/anthony-tomasello-obituary?id=36606348

Dr. Kambiz Dowlatshahi -- Founder Expand

We sadly share that our Founder, Dr. Kambiz Dowlatshahi, passed away on March 17, 2022. Dr. Dowlat was a pioneer in breast cancer therapy. He was one of the original members of the American Society of Breast Surgeons and introduced the core needle biopsy technique into the U.S. The Novilase Laser Therapy developed by Novian Health is the result of years of research by Dr. Dowlat. He was driven to provide the best care for his patients and to improve treatment for all women.

We invite you to read more of Dr. Dowlat's life here: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/chicago-il/kambiz-dowlatshahi-10636362

INVESTORS

iNetworks

Founded in 1999, iNetworks companies and entrepreneurs accelerate their solutions by providing capital and intellectual resources to solve critical problems. iNetworks focuses primarily on healthcare and life sciences businesses that develop breakthrough technologies to improve clinical outcomes for patients and save time, money, and resources for healthcare providers. Learn more at www.inetworkspe.com.

Illinois Investment Venture Fund (IIVF)

The Illinois Investment Venture Fund (IIVF) is a venture capital program seeking to support young, innovative companies, and start-ups that show a high potential for future growth resulting in the creation of high-paying professional Illinois jobs.

CONTACT US

Novian Health Inc.
(Headquarters)
Novian Health Inc.
(Manufacturing)
222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza
Suite 1230
Chicago, Illinois 60654
1205 E State Avenue
Tonganoxie, KS 66086
Office: 312-266-7200 Office: 312-266-7200
Fax: 312-266-7202 Fax: 312-266-7202
Email: info@novianhealth.com Email: info@novianhealth.com

    

LATEST NEWS

  • Novian Health Earns New Product Innovation Award for Novilase Breast Therapy (6 December 2022)
  • Novian Health Gains FDA Breakthrough Designation for Novilase Breast Therapy (28 September 2021)
  • Novian Health Inc. Announces the Second Close of Convertible Note Financing (23 August 2021)
  • Novian Health Inc. Announces the First Close of Convertible Note Financing (28 July 2021)
  • Novian Health to Present at the Cavendish Global Summit on February 25, 2021 (12 February 2021)

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