Medgenics confirms appointment of Dr Marvin Garovoy

US and Israel-based medical technology and therapeutics company Medgenics has appointed Dr Marvin Garovoy as chief medical officer.

A transplant nephrologist by training, Dr Garovoy has 16 years' experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries and first joined Medgenics as acting chief medical officer in January.

His industry experience includes stints at Genentech, Xoma Corporation, and Hyperion Therapeutics, while his medical careers has also seen him serve as professor of surgery, medicine and laboratory medicine at the University of California, San Francisco as well as an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Andrew Pearlman president and CEO of Medgenics, said: “Dr Garovoy's vast experience and skillset will be a considerable asset as we initiate several new clinical trials through to the end of 2012 in the US and Israel, and leverage our Biopump platform technology as we explore the expansion of our development portfolio into new indications.”

The company's Biopump uses a patient's own tissue to continuously produce and deliver their protein therapy and, potentially, has applications in a range of chronic diseases, including diabetes, multiple sclerosis and arthritis.

Dr Garovoy said: “The Biopump technology holds promise to improve the healthcare of millions of people and could be truly transformative for patients, their physicians and payers. I am excited to be a part of the Medgenics team and look forward to working toward bringing these treatments to market.”