A Medical Device Daily

Abiomed (Danvers, Massachusetts) has named recently retired Guidant (Indianapolis) President and CEO Ron Dollens to its board of directors.

Dollens served as president and CEO of Guidant from the time of its spin-off from Eli Lilly and Co. (also Indianapolis) in early 1995 until his retirement in November in the wake of near-finalization of the company's acquisition by Johnson & Johnson (J&J; New Brunswick, New Jersey).

That process has been delayed due to the bidding rivalry between J&J and Boston Scientific (Natick, Massachusetts).

“[Dollens'] leadership experience in the medical device industry should provide us with a wealth of additional knowledge, expertise and opportunities to fuel our growth strategy,“ said Michael Minogue, chairman, CEO and president of Abiomed, which makes heart-assist products and is developing the AbioCor totally implantable replacement heart.

Saying he was interested in contributing to the company's success, Dollens said Abiomed “has tremendous opportunity to provide patients with technology to recover their hearts.“

In addition to his top executive posts at Guidant, Dollens served as a director and chairman of the board of the Advanced Medical Technology Association (Washington), the largest trade association in the sector.