AVS Appoints Sean Gilligan Chief Operating Officer

April 11, 2023—AVS, an early stage medical device company focused on the treatment of severely calcified arterial disease with its pulsatile intravascular lithotripsy (PIVL) therapy, announced the appointment of Sean Gilligan as the company’s Chief Operating Officer.

According to AVS, Gilligan brings 30 years of executive leadership experience to the company, including serving the previous 15 years as Vice President of Program Management and R&D at Boston Scientific, where he was the direct leader of the project management team across multiple sites for the interventional cardiology portfolio, including coronary stents, the Watchman device, and the structural heart valves franchise.

“I’m honored to join the AVS leadership team as we work toward future regulatory milestones for the Pulse IVL system,” stated Gilligan in the press release. “I am encouraged by the early clinical success of the AVS platform and the potential for this innovative therapy to increase access to high-level treatment in calcified arterial disease.”

Mark Toland, Chairman of the Board of AVS, added. “Sean’s addition to the leadership team at AVS marks a significant milestone for our company. He has spent the better part of 3 decades helping to launch and grow medical devices and has a long track record of success bringing new products to market, leading cross-functional teams including R&D, operations, and encouraging innovation. His appointment comes at a pivotal time for our organization following the recent completion of our POWER PAD I clinical trial.”

Thirty-day follow-up data from POWER PAD I, the first-in-human study of the Pulse device, were announced in September 2022.

This year, AVS announced the closing of Series B financing that will accelerate clinical trial timelines for its Pulse device for peripheral application in PIVL cases. The funding will also be used for development and preclinical work on a PIVL device for coronary cases. The financing round was closed in two parts: In January, the company announced it had raised $20 million, and on April 4, it announced the closing of an additional $8.8 million.

The Pulse peripheral IVL system is in development and is not yet cleared for commercial distribution in any country, advised AVS.