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The CEO as a medical device ‘translator’: a remembrance of Peter Geistlich, PhD
This content has been downloaded from IOPscience. Please scroll down to see the full text. 2014 Biomed. Mater. 9 050401 (http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-605X/9/5/050401) View the table of contents for this issue, or go to the journal homepage for more
Download details: IP Address: 176.126.196.52 This content was downloaded on 26/06/2016 at 00:46
Please note that terms and conditions apply.
Biomed. Mater. 9 (2014) 050401 (3pp)
doi:10.1088/1748-6041/9/5/050401
Obituary
The CEO as a medical device ‘translator’: a remembrance of Peter Geistlich, PhD Myron Spector
VA Boston, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA E-mail: [email protected]. harvard.edu
1748-6041/14/050401+3$33.00
In recent years there has been a spotlight on translating developments from the laboratory into the clinic, from the bench to the bedside. But, in fact, this journal and others like it have always existed only because of the expectation that some of the materials described in its pages would eventually find their way into the fabrication of medical devices for clinical use. That is the ultimate goal of most biomaterials researchers, and ‘translation’ has always been a clear objective of the individuals charged with the responsibility for finding new products for their companies: the chief executive officers (CEOs) of medical device companies. They are the people who are under constant pressure to surveil their own laboratories and those of other companies and academic institutions, for technologies for commercialization. What lessons can be learned from those executives that can inform the work of biomaterials researchers and developers? Journals, including this one, interview [1–3] and share remembrances of [4] science and engineering leaders who developed new biomedical materials and clinicians who were instrumental in clinical trials of medical devices. There has been, however, little published in scientific literature of the work of the corporate leaders who play a central role in the translation and commercialization of medical devices. Yet there must be lessons to be learned from those individuals who are ultimately responsible for: deciding on the products to be advanced to the clinic, signing off on the preclinical studies and clinical trials, working through the regulatory requirements, marketing and sales of the products, and financing of the entire enterprise. These lessons may be of value not only to other individuals in the same position but also to biomaterials developers with an eye towards the eventual commercialization of their products. The thoughts herein are prompted by the recent passing of one such corporate leader, Peter Geistlich, PhD [5], at one time chief executive and President of the Board of Geistlich Pharma AG (Wolhusen, Switzerland) and Ed. Geistlich Söhne AG (Schlieren, Switzerland). That we were close friends for almost 40 years gave me the opportunity to observe over a long period the activities of an executive as he dealt with the challenges of creating a medical device company and introducing new products into the clinic. There is a wide spectrum in the makeup of medical device firms, and thus a wide variation in the challenges faced by their heads. At one end of the spectrum is the large public company whose revenues might exceed $1 billion/year, led by an individual with an education and experience in business, and at the other end is the private start-up run by its scientific founder. Geistlich Pharma AG, a private (family-owned) company founded in 1851, would fall somewhere in between. Peter Geistlich was educated as a Chemical Engineer at the Federal Polytechnic School (ETH) in Zurich, and took over stewardship of the company in the late 1950s, long before there were medical devices in its product offerings. Over a period of 30 years, from the 1980s, Dr Geistlich supervised the creation of a medical device business within his company and oversaw the translation of biomaterials into the fabrication of medical devices for the treatment of bone and soft tissue loss in oral and maxillofacial surgery and in orthopedics, including: Bio-Oss®, an anorganic bovine bone product [6–9], and Bio-Gide®, a porcine type I/III collagen membrane [10–12]. That these two products have been in regular use in clinics around the world for 20 years is evidence of their successful performance. The following are a few of the ways in which a corporate leader, exemplified by Dr Peter Geistlich, can contribute to the successful translation and commercialization of medical devices. We frequently hear that in business affairs, ‘it’s not personal.’ But, in fact, an authentic personal connection between the corporate head and those involved in research and © 2014 IOP Publishing Ltd Printed in the UK
Obituary
Biomed. Mater. 9 (2014) 050401
development is of immense importance. For researchers who are employees of the company, knowing that the CEO genuinely cares about one’s well-being as well as the science and engineering engenders dedication and loyalty. For researchers outside of the company, a sense of trust based on a personal relationship with the CEO serves as the cornerstone of a foundation of a productive, comprehensive and satisfying collaboration. Dr Geistlich’s interest in the lives of the people with whom he worked was clear. The time that he would spend speaking to you about matters of personal interest was unhurried, and the discussion remembered for follow-up at future meetings. Contributing to his effectiveness in this regard was that these discussions centered on you, not on him. He was modest about his own achievements, but not about yours. There is a special benefit when the corporate decision maker can converse directly with a researcher at the same scientific level. This eliminates a researcher’s concern that his/her scientific message had lost something as it was passed up the corporate ladder, or that the opinions of others may have diluted the message or placed it in an inappropriate context. But it is rare that a CEO has the same level of educational background as the individuals developing the products. Rare because of the very different skill sets necessary for the R&D of medical devices and the commercialization of the products. Dr Geistlich received a doctoral degree in Chemical Engineering and never lost his eagerness to learn. When he was in a meeting with scientists and engineers inside or outside of the company, he contributed to the discussion as a peer. And thus when he came to a decision regarding the fate of a new product idea, it was clear to all that he fully understood the scientific basis of the development. Dr Geistlich’s appreciation for the scientific basis of products extended to the importance that he attributed to journal publications dealing with reports of the pre-clinical and clinical studies of products. One of his principles was not to proceed to the marketplace until there was a compelling collection of peer-reviewed journal publications on the product. He was not dissuaded from taking a longer path to market in order to complete a full range of investigative studies of the product; he was not interested in shortcuts. In the long run, this proved to be good business in that the quality of his products, well demonstrated in scientific literature, was never in doubt. While Dr Geistlich had high esteem for the work of the scientists and engineers involved in research and development, he also had a special respect for and appreciation of the clinicians who tested the new products on their patients. He appreciated the surgical skills and judgment required of the clinician, and the courage of both the surgeon and patient, to participate in the human trial of a new product. And he understood the importance of the feedback from such trials in making any necessary changes to the product, as costly a process as it might be. His longstanding collaboration and friendship with Dr Philip Boyne [4], an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, is a testament to achievements that derive from a close personal and professional connection between a CEO and clinical investigator. Dr Geistlich’s emphasis on the clinical testing of new products was tied to the empathy that he had for the patients themselves. In fact, the thought that any of his products would prolong life or relieve the suffering of people was a major driving force in his life, often transcending business matters. He was not a businessman who would have been happy running any kind of business. Even within his own company he focused his energies on medical products, allowing others to lead the non-medical product areas. Dr Geistlich’s altruism is reflected in his creation of foundations for the independent and self-sustaining support of medical education and research to ultimately further improve patient care. In 2003 he created the Osteology Foundation (Lucerne, Switzerland [13]) to link science with clinical practice in regenerative medicine through the promotion ‘of research, education and collaboration between universities and industry in the field of oral and maxillofacial tissue regeneration.’ More recently, in 2013, Dr Geistlich instructed the founding of the Osteo Science Foundation (Philadelphia, PA USA [14]), with a similar mission. In this way, a corporate leader demonstrated his commitment to the scientific and clinical communities to provide continuing support for education and research, and to patients to facilitate the development of new therapeutics. The translation of biomaterials from the bench to the fabrication of medical devices for treatment at the bedside involves a team of people with a wide array of skills. It is the CEO who must captain the team and deal with the many facets of commercialization. Examining 2
Obituary
Biomed. Mater. 9 (2014) 050401
the life of Dr Peter Geistlich offers a glimpse of how one such corporate leader, in addition to accomplishing such tasks, was able to nurture biomaterials researchers, support the education and research of clinicians, and provide products that have helped to improve the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of patients. What greater legacy could there be for a medical device translator? References [1] Spector M 2013 An interview with I V Yannas. Tracing one of the deepest roots of biomaterials in tissue engineering/regenerative medicine Biomed. Mater. 8 040401 [2] Spector M 2013 An interview with Molly S Shoichet. Developing biomaterials and mobilizing resources for assaults on some of the most devastating medical problems Biomed. Mater. 8 060401 [3] Spector M 2014 An interview with Jackie Yi-Ru Ying: the compleat multi-tasker Biomed. Mater. 9 030401 [4] Spector M 2008 Ideas and inspiration: a remembrance of Philip J Boyne, DMD, MS, DSc Biomed. Mater. 3 030401 [5] Geistlich P 2014 www.geistlich-na.com/en-us/about-us/geistlich/international/dr-peter-geistlich/ [6] Orr T E, Villars P A, Mitchell S L, Hsu H-P and Spector M 2001 Compressive properties of cancellous bone defects in a rabbit model treated with particles of natural bone mineral and synthetic hydroxyapatite Biomaterials 22 1953–9 [7] Benezra Rosen V, Hobbs L W and Spector M 2001 The ultrastructure of anorganic bovine bone and selected hydroxyapatites used as bone graft substitute materials Biomaterials 23 921–8 [8] Orsini G et al 2005 Maxillary sinus augmentation with bio-Oss particles: a light, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy study in man J. Biomed. Mater. Res. B Appl. Biomater. 74 448–57 [9] Galindo-Moreno P et al 2013 Slow resorption of anorganic bovine bone by osteoclasts in maxillary sinus augmentation Clin. Implant Dent. Relat. Res. 15 858–66 [10] Perelman-Karmon M, Kozlovsky A, Liloy R and Artzi Z 2012 Socket site preservation using bovine bone mineral with and without a bioresorbable collagen membrane Int. J. Periodontics Restorative Dent. 32 459–65 [11] Jung R E, Fenner N, Hammerle C H and Zitzmann N U 2013 Long-term outcome of implants placed with guided bone regeneration (GBR) using resorbable and non-resorbable membranes after 12–14 years Clin. Oral Implants Res. 24 1065–73 [12] Buser D et al 2013 Long-term stability of contour augmentation with early implant placement following single tooth extraction in the esthetic zone: a prospective, cross-sectional study in 41 patients with a 5–9 year follow-up J. Periodontol. 84 1517–27 [13] Osteology Foundation 2014 www.osteology.org/ [14] Osteo Science Foundation 2014 www.osteoscience.org/
3
Search
Collections
Journals
About
Contact us
My IOPscience
The CEO as a medical device ‘translator’: a remembrance of Peter Geistlich, PhD
This content has been downloaded from IOPscience. Please scroll down to see the full text. 2014 Biomed. Mater. 9 050401 (http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-605X/9/5/050401) View the table of contents for this issue, or go to the journal homepage for more
Download details: IP Address: 176.126.196.52 This content was downloaded on 26/06/2016 at 00:46
Please note that terms and conditions apply.
Biomed. Mater. 9 (2014) 050401 (3pp)
doi:10.1088/1748-6041/9/5/050401
Obituary
The CEO as a medical device ‘translator’: a remembrance of Peter Geistlich, PhD Myron Spector
VA Boston, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA E-mail: [email protected]. harvard.edu
1748-6041/14/050401+3$33.00
In recent years there has been a spotlight on translating developments from the laboratory into the clinic, from the bench to the bedside. But, in fact, this journal and others like it have always existed only because of the expectation that some of the materials described in its pages would eventually find their way into the fabrication of medical devices for clinical use. That is the ultimate goal of most biomaterials researchers, and ‘translation’ has always been a clear objective of the individuals charged with the responsibility for finding new products for their companies: the chief executive officers (CEOs) of medical device companies. They are the people who are under constant pressure to surveil their own laboratories and those of other companies and academic institutions, for technologies for commercialization. What lessons can be learned from those executives that can inform the work of biomaterials researchers and developers? Journals, including this one, interview [1–3] and share remembrances of [4] science and engineering leaders who developed new biomedical materials and clinicians who were instrumental in clinical trials of medical devices. There has been, however, little published in scientific literature of the work of the corporate leaders who play a central role in the translation and commercialization of medical devices. Yet there must be lessons to be learned from those individuals who are ultimately responsible for: deciding on the products to be advanced to the clinic, signing off on the preclinical studies and clinical trials, working through the regulatory requirements, marketing and sales of the products, and financing of the entire enterprise. These lessons may be of value not only to other individuals in the same position but also to biomaterials developers with an eye towards the eventual commercialization of their products. The thoughts herein are prompted by the recent passing of one such corporate leader, Peter Geistlich, PhD [5], at one time chief executive and President of the Board of Geistlich Pharma AG (Wolhusen, Switzerland) and Ed. Geistlich Söhne AG (Schlieren, Switzerland). That we were close friends for almost 40 years gave me the opportunity to observe over a long period the activities of an executive as he dealt with the challenges of creating a medical device company and introducing new products into the clinic. There is a wide spectrum in the makeup of medical device firms, and thus a wide variation in the challenges faced by their heads. At one end of the spectrum is the large public company whose revenues might exceed $1 billion/year, led by an individual with an education and experience in business, and at the other end is the private start-up run by its scientific founder. Geistlich Pharma AG, a private (family-owned) company founded in 1851, would fall somewhere in between. Peter Geistlich was educated as a Chemical Engineer at the Federal Polytechnic School (ETH) in Zurich, and took over stewardship of the company in the late 1950s, long before there were medical devices in its product offerings. Over a period of 30 years, from the 1980s, Dr Geistlich supervised the creation of a medical device business within his company and oversaw the translation of biomaterials into the fabrication of medical devices for the treatment of bone and soft tissue loss in oral and maxillofacial surgery and in orthopedics, including: Bio-Oss®, an anorganic bovine bone product [6–9], and Bio-Gide®, a porcine type I/III collagen membrane [10–12]. That these two products have been in regular use in clinics around the world for 20 years is evidence of their successful performance. The following are a few of the ways in which a corporate leader, exemplified by Dr Peter Geistlich, can contribute to the successful translation and commercialization of medical devices. We frequently hear that in business affairs, ‘it’s not personal.’ But, in fact, an authentic personal connection between the corporate head and those involved in research and © 2014 IOP Publishing Ltd Printed in the UK
Obituary
Biomed. Mater. 9 (2014) 050401
development is of immense importance. For researchers who are employees of the company, knowing that the CEO genuinely cares about one’s well-being as well as the science and engineering engenders dedication and loyalty. For researchers outside of the company, a sense of trust based on a personal relationship with the CEO serves as the cornerstone of a foundation of a productive, comprehensive and satisfying collaboration. Dr Geistlich’s interest in the lives of the people with whom he worked was clear. The time that he would spend speaking to you about matters of personal interest was unhurried, and the discussion remembered for follow-up at future meetings. Contributing to his effectiveness in this regard was that these discussions centered on you, not on him. He was modest about his own achievements, but not about yours. There is a special benefit when the corporate decision maker can converse directly with a researcher at the same scientific level. This eliminates a researcher’s concern that his/her scientific message had lost something as it was passed up the corporate ladder, or that the opinions of others may have diluted the message or placed it in an inappropriate context. But it is rare that a CEO has the same level of educational background as the individuals developing the products. Rare because of the very different skill sets necessary for the R&D of medical devices and the commercialization of the products. Dr Geistlich received a doctoral degree in Chemical Engineering and never lost his eagerness to learn. When he was in a meeting with scientists and engineers inside or outside of the company, he contributed to the discussion as a peer. And thus when he came to a decision regarding the fate of a new product idea, it was clear to all that he fully understood the scientific basis of the development. Dr Geistlich’s appreciation for the scientific basis of products extended to the importance that he attributed to journal publications dealing with reports of the pre-clinical and clinical studies of products. One of his principles was not to proceed to the marketplace until there was a compelling collection of peer-reviewed journal publications on the product. He was not dissuaded from taking a longer path to market in order to complete a full range of investigative studies of the product; he was not interested in shortcuts. In the long run, this proved to be good business in that the quality of his products, well demonstrated in scientific literature, was never in doubt. While Dr Geistlich had high esteem for the work of the scientists and engineers involved in research and development, he also had a special respect for and appreciation of the clinicians who tested the new products on their patients. He appreciated the surgical skills and judgment required of the clinician, and the courage of both the surgeon and patient, to participate in the human trial of a new product. And he understood the importance of the feedback from such trials in making any necessary changes to the product, as costly a process as it might be. His longstanding collaboration and friendship with Dr Philip Boyne [4], an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, is a testament to achievements that derive from a close personal and professional connection between a CEO and clinical investigator. Dr Geistlich’s emphasis on the clinical testing of new products was tied to the empathy that he had for the patients themselves. In fact, the thought that any of his products would prolong life or relieve the suffering of people was a major driving force in his life, often transcending business matters. He was not a businessman who would have been happy running any kind of business. Even within his own company he focused his energies on medical products, allowing others to lead the non-medical product areas. Dr Geistlich’s altruism is reflected in his creation of foundations for the independent and self-sustaining support of medical education and research to ultimately further improve patient care. In 2003 he created the Osteology Foundation (Lucerne, Switzerland [13]) to link science with clinical practice in regenerative medicine through the promotion ‘of research, education and collaboration between universities and industry in the field of oral and maxillofacial tissue regeneration.’ More recently, in 2013, Dr Geistlich instructed the founding of the Osteo Science Foundation (Philadelphia, PA USA [14]), with a similar mission. In this way, a corporate leader demonstrated his commitment to the scientific and clinical communities to provide continuing support for education and research, and to patients to facilitate the development of new therapeutics. The translation of biomaterials from the bench to the fabrication of medical devices for treatment at the bedside involves a team of people with a wide array of skills. It is the CEO who must captain the team and deal with the many facets of commercialization. Examining 2
Obituary
Biomed. Mater. 9 (2014) 050401
the life of Dr Peter Geistlich offers a glimpse of how one such corporate leader, in addition to accomplishing such tasks, was able to nurture biomaterials researchers, support the education and research of clinicians, and provide products that have helped to improve the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of patients. What greater legacy could there be for a medical device translator? References [1] Spector M 2013 An interview with I V Yannas. Tracing one of the deepest roots of biomaterials in tissue engineering/regenerative medicine Biomed. Mater. 8 040401 [2] Spector M 2013 An interview with Molly S Shoichet. Developing biomaterials and mobilizing resources for assaults on some of the most devastating medical problems Biomed. Mater. 8 060401 [3] Spector M 2014 An interview with Jackie Yi-Ru Ying: the compleat multi-tasker Biomed. Mater. 9 030401 [4] Spector M 2008 Ideas and inspiration: a remembrance of Philip J Boyne, DMD, MS, DSc Biomed. Mater. 3 030401 [5] Geistlich P 2014 www.geistlich-na.com/en-us/about-us/geistlich/international/dr-peter-geistlich/ [6] Orr T E, Villars P A, Mitchell S L, Hsu H-P and Spector M 2001 Compressive properties of cancellous bone defects in a rabbit model treated with particles of natural bone mineral and synthetic hydroxyapatite Biomaterials 22 1953–9 [7] Benezra Rosen V, Hobbs L W and Spector M 2001 The ultrastructure of anorganic bovine bone and selected hydroxyapatites used as bone graft substitute materials Biomaterials 23 921–8 [8] Orsini G et al 2005 Maxillary sinus augmentation with bio-Oss particles: a light, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy study in man J. Biomed. Mater. Res. B Appl. Biomater. 74 448–57 [9] Galindo-Moreno P et al 2013 Slow resorption of anorganic bovine bone by osteoclasts in maxillary sinus augmentation Clin. Implant Dent. Relat. Res. 15 858–66 [10] Perelman-Karmon M, Kozlovsky A, Liloy R and Artzi Z 2012 Socket site preservation using bovine bone mineral with and without a bioresorbable collagen membrane Int. J. Periodontics Restorative Dent. 32 459–65 [11] Jung R E, Fenner N, Hammerle C H and Zitzmann N U 2013 Long-term outcome of implants placed with guided bone regeneration (GBR) using resorbable and non-resorbable membranes after 12–14 years Clin. Oral Implants Res. 24 1065–73 [12] Buser D et al 2013 Long-term stability of contour augmentation with early implant placement following single tooth extraction in the esthetic zone: a prospective, cross-sectional study in 41 patients with a 5–9 year follow-up J. Periodontol. 84 1517–27 [13] Osteology Foundation 2014 www.osteology.org/ [14] Osteo Science Foundation 2014 www.osteoscience.org/
3
