CAIRDAC Appoints MedTech Executive Raymond W. Cohen as Board Chairman
CAIRDAC, SA, a pre-revenue medical technology company developing an autonomous, leadless and self-powered cardiac pacemaker, has appointed Raymond W. Cohen as chairman of its board of directors. The company said Cohen’s more than four decades of experience in the medical technology industry, including leadership of multiple companies through commercialization and strategic transactions, will support CAIRDAC as it advances development of its Autonomous Leadless Pacing System (ALPS™).
CAIRDAC is developing ALPS as a leadless cardiac pacing technology designed to generate and store electrical energy from the mechanical movement of the heart. The company believes the approach could address some of the limitations associated with conventional pacemakers, particularly those related to battery dependence and the long-term management of implanted devices.
“We are thrilled to welcome Mr. Cohen to the CAIRDAC board of directors,” said Edouard Fonck, chief executive officer of CAIRDAC. “Ray’s extensive track record in leading, scaling and exiting medical technology companies will, no doubt, be invaluable as we advance this exciting project.”
Cohen joins the company at a stage when CAIRDAC is working to advance its leadless pacing platform and its potential applications in cardiac rhythm management. His background includes executive leadership, public-company governance, commercialization and mergers and acquisitions across the medical technology sector.
Four Decades of Medical Technology Experience
Cohen has more than 40 years of experience in the medtech industry and has held leadership positions at companies developing and commercializing implantable medical devices. He is also an accredited public company director and currently serves on the boards of several healthcare companies.
One of the most prominent companies associated with his career is Axonics, Inc. (Nasdaq: AXNX), a medical technology company focused on implantable neuromodulation devices. Cohen co-founded Axonics and served as its chief executive officer, helping lead the company through its development, public-market debut and subsequent commercial expansion.
Axonics completed its initial public offering in 2018. Under Cohen’s leadership, the company grew following the commercial launch of its technology and was subsequently acquired by Boston Scientific in late 2024 in a transaction valued at approximately $3.7 billion.
CAIRDAC highlighted Cohen’s experience building Axonics as particularly relevant to its own development plans. The company’s ALPS technology is also focused on an implantable device platform and is intended to address an established clinical need through a different technological architecture.
Cohen’s recent experience has also included leadership roles involving strategic transactions in the medical device sector. During 2025, he served as chairman of SoniVie Ltd., an Israeli clinical-stage company, and led the sale of the company in a transaction valued at $600 million. Later that year, he led the sale of Nalu Medical in a transaction valued at $533 million.
These transactions add to Cohen’s experience in guiding medical technology companies through important corporate milestones, including financing, commercialization and strategic exits.
CAIRDAC’s Autonomous Leadless Pacing System
At the center of CAIRDAC’s development program is the Autonomous Leadless Pacing System, or ALPS™, which is designed to provide cardiac pacing without relying on conventional transvenous leads.
Traditional pacemakers generally use a pulse generator containing a battery and electronic components, with leads connecting the generator to the heart. Leadless pacemakers were developed to eliminate some of the components associated with traditional systems by placing the pacing device directly inside the heart.
CAIRDAC is pursuing a different approach by combining leadless pacing with energy harvesting technology. The company’s system is designed to use the mechanical movement generated by each heartbeat as an energy source.
According to CAIRDAC, ALPS uses a frequency-tuned piezoelectric energy harvester. The system is designed to convert mechanical energy produced by the beating heart into electrical energy, which can then be stored in an onboard rechargeable battery.
The company believes this architecture could potentially reduce some of the battery-related limitations associated with implanted cardiac devices. Instead of relying solely on stored energy supplied by a conventional battery, the system is intended to continuously harvest energy from the heart.
Potential for Expanded Pacing Capabilities
Cohen said the energy-harvesting architecture could create opportunities for additional functionality within leadless cardiac pacing.
“I see tremendous commercial potential for leadless pacemaker powered by the movement of the human heart,” Cohen said. “ALPS™ uses a frequency-tuned piezoelectric harvester to convert the mechanical energy of each heartbeat into electricity and store it in an onboard rechargeable battery.”
According to Cohen, reducing dependence on battery-driven constraints could potentially support additional capabilities, including multi-chamber pacing, continuous remote monitoring, diagnostic functions and communication between implanted devices.
These potential capabilities are part of CAIRDAC’s broader vision for its platform. As cardiac pacing technology develops, manufacturers and researchers are exploring ways to make implantable devices smaller, more autonomous and capable of collecting and communicating clinical information over extended periods.
Multi-chamber pacing could be particularly relevant to the company’s long-term technology ambitions. While conventional leadless pacing has primarily focused on specific pacing applications, the development of systems capable of coordinating activity across multiple cardiac chambers could broaden the potential clinical applications of leadless technology.
The company also sees opportunities for continuous monitoring and diagnostics. An implantable system capable of collecting physiological information could potentially provide clinicians with additional data regarding cardiac function and device performance. Inter-device communication could likewise become increasingly important as multiple implantable technologies are used together.
Cohen said he believes the technology could ultimately have the potential to establish a new approach to cardiac pacing for patients who require an implanted pacemaker. That statement reflects the company’s development objective rather than an established clinical outcome, as CAIRDAC remains a pre-revenue medical technology company.
Leadership Experience in Healthcare Innovation
Cohen’s appointment also adds experience in public-company governance and venture investment to CAIRDAC’s board.
In addition to his leadership roles at Axonics and other medical technology companies, Cohen currently serves on the boards of several innovative healthcare companies, including Kestra Medical Technologies (Nasdaq: KMTS).
His current professional activities also include investment and advisory roles. Cohen serves as an operating partner at Star51, a recently established venture fund, and as a venture partner with Andera Partners and Sherpa Capital Partners.
These positions provide exposure to emerging healthcare technologies, investment strategies and companies operating at different stages of development.
For CAIRDAC, that experience could be relevant as the company progresses from technology development toward future clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones. Medical device development typically requires coordination across engineering, preclinical research, clinical evaluation, regulatory submissions, manufacturing and commercialization. Leadership experience across these areas can be particularly important for companies developing implantable technologies.
Leadless Cardiac Pacing Market
Leadless pacemakers have emerged as an area of innovation within cardiac rhythm management as medical device companies seek alternatives to conventional pacemaker systems.
One of the principal objectives of leadless technology is to eliminate the need for transvenous leads, which can be associated with complications such as infection, lead failure and vascular access challenges. By integrating pacing components into a compact implantable device, leadless systems seek to simplify aspects of implantation and reduce reliance on traditional lead-based architectures.
CAIRDAC’s approach adds another technological component by seeking to generate electrical energy from the mechanical motion of the heart itself.
The company’s energy-harvesting technology is intended to provide a renewable source of power for the implanted system while retaining an onboard rechargeable battery. The combination is designed to enable the device to capture energy from cardiac motion and store it for use by the pacing system and potentially other functions.
The company will need to demonstrate the safety, reliability and clinical performance of its technology through the appropriate development and regulatory processes before any potential commercial adoption. As with other implantable cardiac technologies, long-term device performance, energy generation, battery management, pacing reliability and patient safety will be important considerations as development progresses.
Strategic Appointment as CAIRDAC Advances Development
Cohen’s appointment comes as CAIRDAC seeks to advance its autonomous leadless pacing technology and establish its position within the evolving cardiac device market.
The company said his experience in founding, scaling and ultimately completing strategic transactions involving medical technology businesses will be valuable as it progresses through future development stages.
For Cohen, the appointment represents an opportunity to contribute to the development of a technology based on energy harvesting rather than relying exclusively on conventional battery power. His previous experience with implantable medical technologies provides a background relevant to CAIRDAC’s focus on cardiac devices.
With ALPS, CAIRDAC is seeking to combine leadless pacing with energy harvesting, onboard energy storage and the potential for expanded digital and diagnostic capabilities. The company’s longer-term objective is to develop a self-powered cardiac pacing platform that could support patients requiring cardiac rhythm management.
As CAIRDAC continues development of ALPS, the company will be expected to advance its technology through the necessary engineering, testing, clinical and regulatory stages. The appointment of Cohen as board chairman adds an experienced medtech executive to the company’s leadership structure as it works toward those milestones.
About CAIRDAC
The global pacemaker market is estimated around $5.5 billion. CAIRDAC is developing ALPS™, leadless pacing platform designed to support dual-chamber pacing and future conduction system pacing while reducing reliance on conventional battery-limited architectures. Following preclinical results reported in a 2026 Europace abstract, the company is preparing for its first-in-human study, with a development pathway targeting CE marking in Europe before a U.S. pivotal study. Current investors include Mérieux Equity Partners, Supernova Invest, Bpifrance, Sham Innovation Santé, and Crédit Agricole Touraine et Poitou.