NATICK, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Allurion Technologies, maker of the Elipse® Balloon – the world’s first and only procedureless™ gastric balloon for weight loss – has announced new roles within its leadership team and two new senior management hires.
Dr. Shantanu Gaur will serve as Chief Executive Officer effective January 1, 2018. Dr. Gaur co-founded Allurion with Dr. Samuel Levy in 2009 and has worked full-time with the company since graduating from Harvard Medical School in 2013. Together with the other members of Allurion’s senior leadership team, he has overseen the core aspects of the business since co-founding the company in 2009.
“This is a very exciting time for Allurion, and we are actively enhancing our management capabilities to take the company to new heights,” said Jonathan Wecker, Allurion’s Chief Executive Officer since 2010. “We have de-risked our product and are expanding rapidly overseas. Over the past eight years of working closely together, Shantanu has consistently demonstrated his capabilities, commitment and leadership within Allurion, and I’m delighted that he has agreed to take on the additional responsibilities of CEO.” Mr. Wecker will assume the roles of Chairman and Chief Operating Officer.
Co-Founder Dr. Samuel Levy will remain in his current role as President overseeing Allurion’s international activities from its Paris office. Dr. Levy, Dr. Gaur and Mr. Wecker will continue to serve together on Allurion’s Board of Directors and Allurion’s Operating Committee managing the day-to-day operations of the company.
“It has been thrilling building Allurion from a two-person to nearly fifty-person organization,” said Dr. Levy. “We are now building the foundation for our next stage of growth.”
Dr. Ram Chuttani joins Allurion as its Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Chuttani has been involved with Allurion as its Senior Medical Advisor since its founding. “Allurion has been the most exciting company I have worked with throughout my career,” said Dr. Chuttani. “With the upcoming start of the US pivotal clinical trial and the commercial expansion of the Elipse Balloon into new markets, the time is right to join the team full-time.” Dr. Chuttani is internationally recognized as a leader in digestive disease care and has pioneered numerous innovative technologies. Prior to joining Allurion, Dr. Chuttani was the Director of Endoscopy and Chief of Interventional Gastroenterology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). Under Dr. Chuttani’s direction, BIDMC became one of the largest providers of advanced endoscopic care in the United States. Dr. Chuttani was a faculty member of Harvard Medical School for the past 20 years and has published over 100 original scientific articles, in addition to several reviews and book chapters.
William “Bill” Burke joins Allurion from Nypro (a Jabil company) where he has served as Director of Operations, overseeing 400,000 square feet of manufacturing space in two facilities, employing over 400 employees and fulfilling in excess of $150 million in sales annually. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Technology from Rhode Island College and has worked in production and plant management for the past 35 years. Bill is an expert in clean room design and construction, process improvement and line automation. He has been tasked with scaling up production of the Elipse Balloon to meet substantial demand from existing commercial markets as well as from new geographies expected to come on line in the future.
“Allurion’s world class products are a testament to its world class team,” said Dr. Gaur. “With these new additions, we are confident that our leadership team is equipped with the expertise and drive to impact the billions of people around the world who are struggling to lose weight.”
About the Elipse Balloon
The Elipse Balloon is a procedureless weight loss device that is swallowed and removed without surgery, endoscopy, or anesthesia. The Elipse System received its European Union CE mark in 2015 and is currently available in ten countries in Europe and the Middle East. It is not yet approved by the FDA and is not currently available in the United States.
The Elipse Balloon is made of a thin, flexible polymer film. The device is swallowed in a capsule and filled with liquid through a thin delivery catheter, which is then detached. The balloon remains in the stomach for approximately four months, after which it opens, allowing it to empty and pass naturally from the body without the need for a removal procedure. A pilot clinical study and recent 135-patient clinical trial of the Elipse Balloon in overweight and obese individuals demonstrate an average weight loss of 13 to 15 kilograms (29 to 33 pounds), which equates to approximately 15% of total body weight.1,2 Participants also saw improvements in their triglycerides, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and quality of life.1 Learn more and see an animation of the Elipse Balloon in action here.
About Allurion Technologies
Allurion Technologies is dedicated to helping people realize their full potential with innovative, scalable and trusted products. The company's flagship product, the Elipse Balloon, is the world’s first and only swallowable, procedureless gastric balloon for weight loss. Learn more about the Elipse Balloon and Allurion online at www.allurion.com, on Facebook at www.fb.com/allurion or on Twitter @alluriontech.
| References: | ||
| 1. |
Raftopoulos and Giannakou. The Elipse Balloon, a swallowable gastric balloon for weight loss not requiring sedation, anesthesia or endoscopy: a pilot study with 12-month outcomes. Surg Obes Relat Dis. 2017;13:1174-1182. |
|
| 2. |
Al Sabah et al. The safety and efficacy of the procedure-less intra-gastric balloon. Surg Obes Relat Dis. doi:10.1016/j.soard.2017.12.001. |
|
