JenaValve Technology, Inc., a developer, manufacturer and marketer of differentiated heart-valve technology, and a company that is committed to making transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) available to the broadest spectrum of patients with aortic valve disease, today announced the appointment of veteran medical device executive Greg Mirigian as Vice President of Research and Development, effective immediately. Mirigian will be based in Irvine, Calif. at JenaValve’s corporate headquarters. 

Mirigian, 45, brings 25 years of medical device experience, and has developed marketleading catheter-based products spanning neurovascular and peripheral vascular markets. He comes to JenaValve after running a successful medical device consulting business for the past seven years with clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to medical device start-ups.

“Greg’s deep delivery catheter and system interaction experience will enable JenaValve to continue to iterate on its transfemoral TAVR system as a world class product offering,” said Chief Executive Officer Victoria E. Carr-Brendel, Ph.D. “He joins us at a time when we are engaged in the clinical trial for CE mark, and we anticipate learning from that trial and incorporating physician feedback to further improve the system for market leadership.”

In addition to his consulting business, Mirigian was chief technology officer of Fremont, Calif.-based INCUMEDX, an R&D-focused medical device incubator specializing in early-stage device design/development, from November 2008 to February 2014. Prior to this, he was at Boston Scientific where he led Access R&D engineering groups to develop and commercialize several neurovascular catheter and guidewire products. He is an inventor on more than 30 issued or pending patents, and throughout his career has held increasing roles of engineering management responsibility. Mirigian earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from San Jose State University.

“JenaValve is an attractive company because of its unique approach to simplifying transcatheter aortic valve replacement using innovative and proprietary technology,” said Mirigian. “JenaValve has the opportunity to treat the entire spectrum of aortic valve disease. I look forward to building on the solid foundation established by the dedicated team here, driving towards commercial success with world-class valves and delivery systems.”