Ajax Health

Welcome to Ajax, Carla Jung! Carla will expand the commercialization capabilities of Ajax’s growing platform portfolio with her 24 years of experience as an award-winning sales leader at two of the industry’s top companies, Boston Scientific and Medtronic. Ajax Health, backed by KKR, partners with leading medtech companies to establish dedicated platforms focused on aggregating and developing medical device assets within a specific therapeutic area of interest into high-growth portfolios. With her extensive commercial expertise, Carla will create enormous value across these new platforms. We look forward to the impact she will create in our ecosystem! Read more: https://lnkd.in/e9Dc9EQC

Medical device innovation is notoriously challenging but several companies, including Smith Nephew, Hologic, Inc., and Ajax Health, have found new ways to drive innovation. I’m excited to moderate a panel at The MedTech Conference on October 15 with John Rogers, Essex David Mitchell, and Duke Rohlen to learn about the new models they've implemented to drive medtech innovation and how we can apply these models more broadly to revolutionize our medtech industry. #MTC24 #MedTechCon #KPMG

Join Ajax Health's Luke Rohlen and Cordis' Greg Schiffenhaus at Innovation Summit San Diego 2024 in the panel session "The Ajax Model: A Middle Path to Innovation." 🎙️ Stephen Levin, Editor-in-Chief of Market Pathways, will be moderating the discussion featuring these esteemed panelists on Wednesday, November 20 from 3:50-4:30PM: Luke Rohlen is an Associate at Ajax Health, an investment firm that operates dozens of companies in the healthcare technology sector. He is also a Director of Business Development at Cortex, an electrophysiology company focused on the diagnosis and treatment of atrial arrhythmias, and a Project Manager for Cordis-X, an independent innovation engine dedicated to delivering transformational products to Cordis. Greg Schiffenhaus is a Director and the Chief of Staff to the CEO at Cordis, a global leader in cardiovascular and endovascular technologies. In this role, Greg supports the CEO and broader leadership team in shaping, managing, and executing key strategic initiatives that drive value across the organization. Welcome to #InnovationSanDiego, Luke and Greg! Climb the Summit to MedTech Innovation November 19-21, 2024 at The US Grant Hotel in San Diego, California to easily connect and network with the industry's top key players without the typical conference hurdles. Register today: https://bit.ly/4gBjKW6 Duke Rohlen Aftab Kherani Garheng Kong Jared Teo Basile Montagnese Cason Kynes Sarah St. Laurent Casey Dougan Gustavo Gurgulino George Adams Chris Bingham Lorin Kalpic Monique Rochard - Marine CMM CMP CTSM Denise Clemons Hite Lilly Green

In just one week, Duke Rohlen will take the stage as our day 2 keynote speaker at LSI Europe ‘24 in Sintra, Portugal. Duke Rohlen is a serial entrepreneur and currently serves as CEO and Managing Director of Ajax Health, a turnkey growth solution for commercial-stage Medtech companies. Ajax Health specializes in developing comprehensive product portfolios that can be seamlessly integrated into a commercial framework. Prior to Ajax Health, Duke co-founded and served as the Chairman and CEO of EPIX Therapeutics (acquired by Medtronic in 2019), served as co-founder and CEO of Spirox (acquired by Entellus in 2017), co-founded and served as CEO of CV Ingenuity (acquired by Covidien in 2013), served in a variety of roles at FoxHollow Technologies before being named President where he led the sale of the company to ev3 (now Medtronic) in 2008. The Keynote will be moderated by Mano Iyer, Partner in the Sofinnova Partners MD Start Strategy and Founder of Recor Medical. Mano was also among the co-founders of the original MD Start team that incubated companies including CorWave and LimFlow. Duke’s Keynote will be based on his recently published thesis, "The Middle Path to Innovation," published in the Harvard Business Review. He will discuss strategies for developing high-growth products in slow-growth companies and present the growth driver model—a framework that partners corporations with external investors to identify and develop innovation opportunities, drawing on corporate resources and talent and externally recruited entrepreneurs. This Keynote will take place on September 18th (Day 2) at LSI Europe ‘24 in Sintra, Portugal.

Looking to stay ahead of market trends and build a high-performance company? Ajax Chief Medical Officer and Managing Director Aftab Kherani will be participating in the featured panel on "Navigating the MedTech Investment Landscape" at AcuityMD's #Flywheel2024 event along with Greg Banker (Vensana Capital) and Erik Anderson (Hologic, Inc.). They will discuss how companies can: - effectively attract and secure funding from inception through to market entry and beyond. - align with larger organizations and better position themselves for successful exits or accelerated growth. https://lnkd.in/eBMSh-RR

“The job of a CEO is to raise money, and then get a return on that money.” For Duke Rohlen and the Ajax Health team, every investment decision begins with an assessment of the company's strategy. Before diving into the details of technology, operations, or management, they need to know how the company is going to create liquidity. As market conditions evolve, the ability to identify and execute on multiple pathways to monetize a business—whether through partnerships, roll-ups, or private equity funding—has become essential. CEOs who prioritize these strategies are better equipped to navigate the complexities of today’s market, positioning their companies for sustained growth and successful exits. Catch the full panel, “Medtech Buyouts by Private Equity” now available on our website and YouTube channel. Featured Panelists: • David Uffer (Moderator) — Trinity Life Sciences • Antonio Sánchez-Cordero — ARCHIMED • Duke Rohlen — Ajax Health • Erich Wolff — Partners Group You can hear more from Duke Rohlen, CEO and Managing Director of Ajax Health, at LSI Europe '24 where he will be giving a Keynote Presentation based on his recently published thesis, "The Middle Path to Innovation," published in the Harvard Business Review. He will discuss strategies for developing high-growth products in slow-growth companies and present the growth driver model—a framework that partners corporations with external investors to identify and develop innovation opportunities, drawing on corporate resources and talent and externally recruited entrepreneurs.

We welcome our lead investor Omega Funds and new investor Intuitive Ventures, and are grateful to our existing investors including founding investor Cleveland Clinic Innovations, Ajax Health, Broadview Ventures Inc, Longview Ventures, Aperture Venture Partners, JobsOhio Growth Capital Fund, CincyTech and our unnamed strategic investor. Saoussen Ben Halima, PhD Claudio Nessi Marla Jalbut, MD, MBA Murielle Thinard McLane Jotthe Kannappan Vijay Rajasekhar, MD, MBA Vivian Emmely Golfin, MD JD Friedland Zach Eisen Duke Rohlen Aftab Kherani Doug Koo Shane Kreidel Daniel Gottlieb Maria Berkman, MD Anthony Natale, M.D. Eric S. Tatyana Hower Steph Ison Samuel Lee, MD, MBA Ashley Keating Anthony Caparso John Sam Bhavesh Patel Rabih Nassif Andrew Wu

How much weight should be placed on intellectual property protection for Medtech startups? While patents often serve as a cornerstone for many startups, David Beylik’s perspective might surprise you. In this clip, David Beylik says that IP isn't always the primary focus for them. Regulatory approval, clinical data, and manufacturing expertise often carry more weight in terms of a company’s defensibility and long-term success. So, does that mean IP isn’t important? Not exactly. While IP might not always be a deal-breaker or maker, there are times when it’s critical and can halt an investment in its tracks. In other words, while IP might not always be at the forefront of an investment decision, when it matters, it really matters. For innovators, this means that building a strong IP portfolio should be part of a broader strategy that includes securing regulatory approvals and developing robust operational capabilities. Tune into the full LSI USA ‘24 panel, “IP: Friend or Foe in Building Medtech Ventures?” to hear more from the panelists on this nuanced discussion. Hear from: • Irfan Lateef (Moderator) — Knobbe Martens • Leah Brownlee — Lazurite • Sabing Lee — Knobbe Martens • David Beylik — Ajax Health

This HBR article by Duke Rohlen, Regina Herzlinger, Ben Creo and Will Kynes is a must read for everyone who is looking for new strategies to foster innovation within a corporate environment. The Growth Driver Models maximises alignment with strategy, minimises cost and reduces risks, compared to internal innovation or acquisition.

We are thrilled to welcome Duke Rohlen as a Keynote Speaker at #LSIEurope24 in Sintra, Portugal. Duke Rohlen is a serial entrepreneur and currently serves as CEO and Managing Director of Ajax Health, a turnkey growth solution for commercial-stage Medtech companies. Ajax Health specializes in developing comprehensive product portfolios that can be seamlessly integrated into a commercial framework. Prior to Ajax Health, Duke co-founded and served as the Chairman and CEO of EPIX Therapeutics (acquired by Medtronic in 2019), served as co-founder and CEO of Spirox (acquired by Entellus in 2017), co-founded and served as CEO of CV Ingenuity (acquired by Covidien in 2013), served in a variety of roles at FoxHollow Technologies before being named President where he led the sale of the company to ev3 (now Medtronic) in 2008. The Keynote will be moderated by Mano Iyer, Partner in the Sofinnova Partners MD Start Strategy and Founder of Recor Medical. Mano was also among the co-founders of the original MD Start team that incubated companies including CorWave and LimFlow. Duke’s Keynote will be based on his recently published thesis, "The Middle Path to Innovation," published in the Harvard Business Review. He will discuss strategies for developing high-growth products in slow-growth companies and present the growth driver model—a framework that partners corporations with external investors to identify and develop innovation opportunities, drawing on corporate resources and talent and externally recruited entrepreneurs. This Keynote will take place on September 18th (Day 2) at LSI Europe ‘24 in Sintra, Portugal. Want to watch this Keynote live? Join nearly 1,000 global Medtech and Healthtech leaders in Sintra, Portugal this September 16-20th. Apply today while space is still available.