CONCORD, Mass., May 10, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Beta Bionics, Inc. — a clinical-stage medical technology company committed to the design, development, and commercialization of the iLet® Bionic Pancreas — today announced the appointments of Gilad Glick, former Chief Executive Officer, Itamar Medical, to the Board of Directors and Veena Rao, Ph.D., to the role of Chief Commercial Officer. Rao was previously Beta Bionics’ Vice President of Business Development and interim Chief Commercial Officer. The strategic evolution of the leadership team and Board of Directors positions Beta Bionics for success ahead of commercialization of the iLet® Bionic Pancreas. The iLet® is currently pending FDA clearance.
Gilad Glick Appointed to Board of Directors
Beta Bionics has appointed Gilad Glick, former Chief Executive Officer of Itamar Medical, to its Board of Directors. Glick has over 25 years of medical device experience across Europe and the U.S., within a variety of functional areas focused on commercialization, strategy, sales, marketing, and research and development. Prior to joining Itamar Medical as Chief Executive Officer, Glick served as Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Marketing at Biosense Webster, a Johnson & Johnson company, overseeing all strategic and commercial activities.
“We are delighted to welcome Gilad to our Board of Directors, and look forward to working with him as we prepare for the commercialization phase of the iLet® Bionic Pancreas,” said Dr. Ed Damiano, Founder and Executive Chair, Beta Bionics. “His expertise within the healthcare and medical device industry, and his strong strategic, commercial, and international experience will be instrumental to the growth and maturation of our organization and business over the coming years.”
“I look forward to working with a dedicated and passionate management team committed to improving the lives of people with diabetes,” said Glick. “It is rewarding to have the opportunity to contribute to Beta Bionics’ public benefit mission, as the team seeks to improve the lives of people unable to reach glycemic goals with currently available diabetes technology and help reduce the cognitive burden experienced by people with type 1 diabetes, as well as their families and physicians.”
Glick is a member of Israel’s 8400 Heath Network, a founder of the MedTech Commercialization Institute and a member of Almeda Venture MedTech Fund’s Board of Directors. He earned a Master of Business Administration from the Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands, majoring in General and Strategic Management. He is also a graduate of the Strategic Marketing Management Executive Program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Veena Rao Assumes Chief Commercial Officer Position
Rao initially served as Beta Bionics’ Vice President of Business Development, beginning in late 2020; in early 2021, she also assumed the role of interim Chief Commercial Officer. As Chief Commercial Officer, Rao will continue her responsibilities for the strategic direction and leadership of all sales, marketing, market access, and customer care activities related to the launch and commercialization of the iLet®, following FDA clearance. She will also contribute to the senior leadership team’s ongoing commitment to Beta Bionics’ public benefit mission and the continued pursuit of an innovative culture, focused on the customer and the community.
“Veena brings a unique blend of commercial and scientific expertise, as well as key external relationships in automated insulin delivery, connected pens, glucose monitoring, and areas of digital health, all of which are instrumental as we move from being a clinical-stage company to a commercial-stage company,” said Martha Goldberg Aronson, interim CEO and Board Director, Beta Bionics. “Her leadership is critically important as we continue to build out a top-tier commercial team, focused on improving the lives of the type 1 diabetes community with our innovative technology.”
Rao has more than 20 years of experience in medical devices, life sciences, pharmaceuticals, and diabetes. Throughout her career, she has led multiple cross-functional teams in developing device and drug delivery strategic plans and customer care initiatives, played a critical role in strategic deals related to connected care and delivery, developed promotional messaging strategies and branding efforts, and created and scaled innovation teams for device, delivery, and digital health functions.
Rao earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Virginia, a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University, and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota.
About the iLet® Bionic Pancreas
The iLet® is a pocket-sized, wearable investigational medical device designed to autonomously dose insulin. It is designed to be worn like an insulin pump; however, iLet® users would enter only their body weight to initialize therapy and would not set any insulin regimen parameters. The iLet® is designed to then automatically titrate and infuse insulin without requiring the user to count carbohydrates, set insulin-to-carbohydrate ratios, set insulin basal rates, set correction factors, or determine bolus insulin for meals or corrections. The technology is designed to help a broad base of people who wish to use technology to manage diabetes.
About Beta Bionics
Beta Bionics® is a clinical stage medical technology company focused on the design, development, and commercialization of its iLet® Bionic Pancreas in both the insulin dosing (the iLet®) and bihormonal (iLet Duo™) configurations. The iLet Bionic Pancreas platform is designed to use adaptive, self-learning, control algorithms, together with continuous glucose monitoring and pump technology, to autonomously compute and administer doses of insulin and/or glucagon and mimic the body’s natural ability to maintain tight glycemic control. Beta Bionics is a for-profit, public benefit corporation and Certified B Corporation™. Since its founding in 2015, its mission is to help improve health outcomes and the quality of life of children and adults living with diabetes and other conditions of glycemic dysregulation.
