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FRANTZ MEDICAL GROUP EXPANDS
SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM
In response to expanding product development activity and technology evaluations, Frantz Medical Group Adds Vice President of Research & Business Development and Senior Engineering Manager, Product Development
Mentor, OH, August 30, 2005 – Mentor, Ohio-based Frantz Medical Group (FMG), a medical device developer and manufacturer, and diagnostic biomarker developer, announced today the expansion of FMG’s corporate management with the addition of two new positions: Stephanie Harrington as Vice President of Research & Business Development and Mark Goodin as Senior Engineering Manager, Product Development. Mrs. Harrington will be responsible for the leadership of new product development and engineering operations, as well as exploration and implementation of new business opportunities for the Frantz Medical Group. Mr. Goodin will be responsible for establishing and implementing strategic development plans for the commercialization of new technology.
Mrs. Harrington brings to FMG over a decade of medical device product development experience, from both large and small corporations. Mrs. Harrington, who holds a master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University, gained corporate experience at STERIS Corporation, a global leader in infection prevention systems, where she was responsible for product development of liquid-based systems and accessories and directed the activities of approximately 40 engineers, microbiologists, and chemists. Following her tenure at STERIS, Mrs. Harrington provided consulting services in the areas of product development, program management, and regulatory affairs for a number of local medical device companies, including FMG, Imalux Corporation, and BIOMEC, Inc.
Prior to joining FMG, Mrs. Harrington served as Vice President of Regulatory & Clinical Affairs at Imalux, a start-up Cleveland-based company pioneering new optical imaging technology. In this capacity, she was responsible for the development direction and regulatory strategy of Imalux’s novel imaging system, resulting in three FDA pre-market 510(k) clearances within two years.
The addition of Mrs. Harrington expands the senior management capabilities of the Frantz Medical Group, which includes Mark G. Frantz, Chairman and CEO; J. Paul Hanson, Vice President, Operations, Frantz Medical Development; and Dr. Lorelei Davis, Vice President, Research & Business Development, Frantz BioMarkers and Partner, Frantz Medical Ventures.
“Over the past four years, Frantz Medical has expanded its product development activities into several new specialties including orthopedics, cardiovascular and diagnostics, and has formed several new development/commercialization entities with The Cleveland Clinic Foundation. With so much activity, we created a new senior management position, Vice President, Research & Business Development, to bring a higher level of oversight to the R&D efforts and a tighter focus to the identification and cultivation of new product opportunities,” said Mark G. Frantz, Chairman and CEO. “We were quite fortunate that Stephanie accepted this position; she has the academic credentials and practical work experience this position demands. I am delighted that Stephanie has joined Team Frantz.”
In response to FMG’s expanding development initiatives, Mrs. Harrington recently recruited a new engineering manager to the R&D team, Mark Goodin. Mr. Goodin, who holds a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, has over 16 years of engineering experience in the development of innovative medical devices in the fields of neurosurgery, urology, orthopedics and cardiovascular surgery. In addition, Mr. Goodin has expertise in the area of fluid dynamics and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), a software tool that is used to model and optimize fluid flow.
Mr. Goodin was a senior manager in The Cleveland Clinic’s Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) for seven years until this past December. As the Director of the Medical Device Innovations Group, Mr. Goodin directed the activities of the BME Department’s engineering, electronics, polymer and mechanical prototype teams focused on the invention and prototyping of new medical devices. In this capacity, Mr. Goodin managed the team responsible for translating the clinician’s inventions from thoughts and sketches into functional prototypes for evaluation. During his tenure, he worked closely with leading research clinicians to invent and develop novel devices, for example, a mitral valve repair ring and a perfusion cannula.
“Mark’s product development experience and expertise in mechanical engineering and fluidics further enhance Frantz Medical’s R&D capabilities,” said Mrs. Harrington. “With Mark’s experience, coupled with Frantz Medical’s core competencies in electromechanical and consumable medical device development and manufacturing, we are uniquely positioned to achieve our new medical device development initiatives in the specialties of orthopedics, cardiovascular, and minimally invasive surgery. We are thrilled that Mark has joined Team Frantz.”
About Frantz Medical Group
Frantz Medical Group (FMG) has been transforming innovative concepts into commercially successful medical devices, both electromechanical and disposable products, since 1979. As an ISO 9000/1-certified, FDA-registered medical device company, FMG offers inventors and early-stage companies the infrastructure to design, verify, and transfer to production new medical devices efficiently and cost-effectively. FMG’s manufacturing capabilities include high-volume injection molding, assembly, inspection, and packaging – with both clean room and open manufacturing areas. For high volume products, FMG designs products for later-stage automation, and has implemented in-house automation, lowering labor requirements and per-piece costs.
In 2001, the Frantz Medical Group formed the Frantz Medical Venture Fund I, L.P. (FMV) whose objective is long-term capital appreciation through venture capital investments in early and expansion-stage medical technology companies. This fund offers the distinct advantage of being managed by individuals with decades of experience in medical device technology, development, and management.
Founded in 2004, Frantz BioMarkers, LLC (FBL) seeks to build on the current revolution in molecular diagnostics by discovering and commercializing novel indicators of biological states – biomarkers – in circulating blood and other biological fluids. FBL provides the necessary infrastructure for sample collection, storage, fractionation, and molecular analysis using FBL's state-of-the-art mass spectrometry equipment and rapid, automated clinical assays. FBL's primary facilities are located on the campus of The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio.
For further information regarding Frantz Medical Group, please refer to the website: www.FrantzGroup.com.
Contact Information:
Stephanie A. S. Harrington, M.S.
Vice President, Research & Business Development
Frantz Medical Development Ltd.
7770 Metric Drive
Mentor, Ohio 44060
Tel: 440 255-4514
Fax: 440 255-6975
Email: sharrington@frantzgroup.com
Web: www.FrantzGroup.com