Andrew Cleeland, CEO of Fogarty Innovations, has joined the Francis Medical Board of Directors. Francis Medical is a privately held medical device company developing a proprietary water vapor ablation therapy for the treatment of prostate, kidney, and bladder cancer.

Prior to joining Fogarty Innovations, Cleeland served as vice president and general manager of transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) at Medtronic, a position stemming from the 2015 acquisition of Twelve Inc., where Cleeland had been the president and CEO beginning in 2012. From 2006 to 2012, he served as president and CEO of Ardian. Cleeland has also served in leadership roles at Radiant, Baxter, and Telectronics Pacing Systems, and has held board director or chairperson positions for numerous companies, including Zenflow, Medical Microinstruments, Saluda Medical, Medical Device Innovation Consortium, The Foundry, and nVision Medical.

“Andrew will be a welcome addition to an already deeply experienced and talented board,” said Michael Kujak, president and CEO of Francis Medical. “The announcement comes at an exciting time, as we recently received full FDA approval to begin our VAPOR 2 pivotal U.S. clinical study, triggering the release of the second tranche of our $55.0 million Series B equity financing secured in September 2021.”

The VAPOR 2 study will evaluate Francis Medical’s water vapor technology in treating intermediate-risk prostate cancer. The technology applies the thermal energy stored in a few drops of sterile water to deliver targeted treatments to the cancerous tissue through a simple transurethral procedure. The therapy is designed to ablate cancer cells while protecting surrounding structures, lessening the likelihood of life-altering side effects common with other prostate cancer treatments.

“Francis Medical has a powerfully simple and differentiated technology, supported by an outstanding team,” said Cleeland. “I’m excited to add my knowledge and experience to the group and make a meaningful impact as we strive to bring this transformational technology to urologists and their patients.”