COLUMBUS, Ohio — Cleveland Clinic spinoff CleveX has hired a new chief executive officer as it tries to sell its disposable lesion-removal tool, the ExiClip.
Sam Finkelstein said he was in Florida on Monday meeting with clients and other business partners and a release from the company stated he would focus on sales. Finkelstein is the former chief executive of Riverain Medical, which makes chest imaging software to detect lung cancer.
He replaces Gary Smith, who will serve as CleveX’s president and also said he will focus more on sales and marketing of the ExiClip, according to Columbus Business First.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
CleveX launched the ExiClip in March. It had raised $1.4 million last year to help finish commercialization of the product. Smith told Business First the company expected $1 million in revenue next year.
The ExiClip, with the help of a hook to raise the skin, quick snips off a lesion for a biopsy and then automatically seals the wound shut with a metal clip, which is removed in about two weeks. The EciClip is disposable and sells for $350 for a pack of 10, according to the company Web site.
