Jim Dillon
BiVACOR, Inc., a clinical-stage medical technology company developing a total artificial heart (TAH), today announced that Jim Dillon has been named chief executive officer and a member of its board of directors.
Jim Dillon is an experienced medical device executive whose career focus in heart failure has included developing cardiovascular therapies to enable native heart recovery, reducing the size of a patient’s myocardial infarction, repairing adult and congenital cardiac defects, and volume management for acutely decompensated congestive heart failure patients.
“Jim’s leadership style, combined with his experience in building high-performance teams as well as expertise in the heart failure field, makes him the ideal person to lead BiVACOR,” stated Raymond W. Cohen, Chairman of the Board of BiVACOR. “We are thrilled to have him join as CEO.”
Over his multi-decade career, Jim Dillon has held a series of corporate strategic and sales leadership positions as a key contributor to multiple successful medical device companies. Prior to his recent role as CEO of clinical-stage private company BioVentrix, he held senior executive sales and marketing positions with Abiomed, TherOx, and InfraReDx.
“It’s a privilege to lead the BiVACOR team at a pivotal time in the company’s history,” said Mr. Dillon. “A Total Artificial Heart (TAH) is unique in its complexity and importance as an advanced treatment option for end-stage biventricular heart failure patients. The BiVACOR TAH device has the potential to truly revolutionize the field.”
In late November, BiVACOR announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved an investigational device exemption allowing the company to conduct a first-in-human clinical feasibility study of the BiVACOR TAH. The study will evaluate the safety and feasibility of the TAH as a bridge to heart transplant in the treatment of subjects with biventricular heart failure. Initially, three patients will be enrolled at The Texas Heart Institute in Houston. The study is anticipated to commence in the first half of 2024.