Checkpoint Surgical announces organizational changes to support the company's rapid growth in the nerve care market space

CLEVELAND, Sept. 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Checkpoint Surgical today announced the transition of Len Cosentino from President and CEO to the role of Founder and Executive Advisor. Additionally, several other organizational changes to support the company's rapid growth have recently been made. Checkpoint Surgical makes surgical devices for intraoperative nerve care.

Len Cosentino, who has served as President and CEO from Checkpoint Surgical's inception in 2009, will transition to Founder and Executive Advisor and will continue to take an active role in the company. Derek Lewis, who has served as Checkpoint Surgical's Vice President of R&D and Operations since 2018, has been promoted to President and CEO.

"Over the past five years, Derek has led a significant expansion of the company's product line for intraoperative nerve care. His contributions have been integral to Checkpoint Surgical's success," said Len. "Derek has my full confidence and support in leading the company toward fulfilling our nerve care mission and our vision to become the market's preeminent nerve care enterprise."

Derek brings to the role substantial experience and a track record of success in the medical device industry. Prior to joining Checkpoint Surgical, he served in Operations and R&D leadership roles at Exsomed Surgical and Next Step Arthropedix. In each of these roles, his team successfully launched the organization's initial products into the US market. Previously, Derek served as Chief Operating Officer of OrthoHelix Surgical Designs, a startup extremities company that was acquired by Tornier in 2012. Under his leadership, Derek's R&D and Operations teams rapidly delivered innovative products to the market. After the sale of OrthoHelix to Tornier, Derek served as Vice President, Lower Extremities Business Unit, for Tornier.

Commenting on Len's contributions to Checkpoint Surgical's success, Derek said, "When startups fail, it is often due to a weak founding team. Under Len's leadership, this has never been the case at Checkpoint Surgical. Through many challenges over the years, Len built and led an outstanding team. Checkpoint Surgical's many achievements are a testament to his unwavering commitment to our mission. I look forward to his continued guidance and leadership within the organization as he takes this next step."

In addition, the company announced several promotions and the addition of a key position:

• Rick DiBlasi was promoted from Vice President of Sales & Marketing to the newly created position of Chief Commercial Officer.
• Kevin Scanlan was promoted from Vice President of Clinical Services to Senior Vice President of Clinical Services.
• Don Hubbard was promoted from Vice President of Development to Senior Vice President of Development.
• Ben Cottrill was promoted from Product Development Director to Vice President of R&D.
• Laura Keck will continue to serve as Chief Financial Officer.

Over the past two years, Checkpoint Surgical has expanded its domestic sales force for greater penetration into key markets and has also grown its R&D organization to support product line additions and extensions.

Checkpoint Surgical introduced the original Checkpoint Nerve Stimulator in 2009, inspiring surgeons to think differently about nerve protection and repair procedures. Checkpoint's safe nerve stimulation technology opened opportunities for unexpected clinical applications, with surgeons themselves discovering new and innovative uses for the device. Today, Checkpoint stimulators are regarded as the standard of care for intraoperative nerve stimulation. The devices are used every day for nerve protection, assessment and repair across a wide variety of surgical procedures.

In May 2022, the company achieved a milestone of 100,000 stimulators sold. The growth of these products is a testament to their utility during nerve repair procedures. Moving forward, Checkpoint expects to launch continued enhancements to the product line to further enhance its value to our customers.

Beyond nerve stimulation, Checkpoint Surgical continues to deliver solutions for the entire continuum of intraoperative nerve care—from nerve protection and assessment, to nerve preparation and repair, to nerve healing and restoration.

• In early 2021, Checkpoint Surgical acquired the NeuroShield^® Chitosan Membrane from Swiss-based Monarch BioImplants, adding a chitosan-based nerve membrane to its product portfolio. NeuroShield may be used for the repair of peripheral nerve injuries by providing a protective barrier during tissue healing.
• In July 2022, the company's product line grew again with the launch of the Checkpoint Edge™ Nerve Cutting Kit, adding nerve-specific surgical instruments to the portfolio. Checkpoint Edge uses circumferential constraint to maintain the nerve's natural shape during transection and preserve nerve tissue integrity.
• Meanwhile, the Checkpoint stimulator line continues to grow, with anticipated launch of the Checkpoint Gemini Bipolar Stimulator in September 2022. An evolution of the company's flagship Checkpoint Guardian device, Checkpoint Gemini is designed to deliver precise stimulation for specific clinical situations.

The company will feature its entire expanded intraoperative nerve care portfolio at the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) annual conference at the end of September.

Checkpoint Surgical is a privately held medical device company based in Cleveland, Ohio. The company works with surgeons to advance the science and practice of peripheral nerve care through research, education and innovative product development. Checkpoint Surgical's state of the art nerve stimulation devices have become the standard of care for intraoperative nerve stimulation. The company is actively developing new products to support the entire continuum of intraoperative nerve care. For more information about Checkpoint Surgical, visit www.checkpointsurgical.com.

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SOURCE Checkpoint Surgical, Inc.