(Midland Park, N.J. – February 27, 2019) Medality Medical LLC, a U.S.-based medical technology company, announced today that Laurence (Larry) Hirsch, MD, FACP, has been named Chief Medical Advisor. With nearly four decades of extensive clinical and professional experience in diabetes research and management, Dr. Hirsch will lead the development and implementation of Medality Medical’s clinical development strategy. His initial focus will be the clinical trial of the Company’s patented, proprietary medical device and surgical procedure designed to reverse type 2 diabetes and associated obesity. Approval to commence this clinical trial (Investigational Device Exemption/IDE) was recently received from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
Previously, Dr. Hirsch served as Vice President – Global Medical Affairs of BD’s (Becton, Dickinson and Company) Diabetes Care unit. During his 13-year tenure, his team’s groundbreaking research on insulin injection site anatomy and physiology was fundamental to establishing current standards for diabetes injection technique. Many insulin delivery devices used globally today were influenced by Larry’s published work.
Dr. Hirsch began his corporate career at Merck (MSD), where he held senior roles in clinical research, drug development, and policy related to trial registration and publication. He led pioneering clinical trials that resulted in blockbuster drugs for cholesterol reduction, including the practice-changing “4S” trial with simvastatin. Larry also led the worldwide development team responsible for FDA approval of alendronate (Fosamax®) as the first non-hormonal treatment for post-menopausal osteoporosis, and multiple subsequent indications.
Dr. Hirsch, who has lived with type 1 diabetes for 61 years, is board-certified in Internal Medicine, and in Endocrinology and Metabolism. He was awarded Fellowship status in the American College of Physicians, was a recipient of the Edward J. III Foundation Award for Outstanding Scientist in New Jersey, as well as BD’s prestigious Wesley J. Howe Lifetime Achievement Award.
Edward Gillen, Chief Executive Officer at Medality Medical since 2018, is pleased to be working again with his former BD colleague. With over 30 years of experience in various management roles in the medical device field, Mr. Gillen most recently served as Senior Director at BD’s Diabetes Care unit. Throughout his 24-year tenure at BD, he led large multi-national business teams, formed two new business units and was responsible for the development and implementation of strategies that led to industry growth and share-of-category positions for several billion-dollar enterprises.
About Medality Medical LLC
Medality Medical LLC, a privately funded (including an NIH grant) medical technology company, is focused on reversing type 2 diabetes and associated obesity. Its patented, proprietary technology enables the gentle and selective extraction of excess mesenteric visceral fat, which has been associated with insulin resistance, a precursor to type 2 diabetes. In a published pre-clinical primate trial, reversal of insulin resistance was achieved and was the basis for having received FDA Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) clearance to research the benefits of this approach in humans. Medality Medical’s extraction technology is FDA-cleared for the removal of subcutaneous fat and has been safely and effectively used on humans since 2013. Medality Medical is currently raising additional capital to fund the clinical trial and expand its IP portfolio. For more information: www.medalitymedical.com.