Vexim Strengthens its Executive Team

Vexim, a company specializing in the minimally invasive treatment of vertebral fractures, has strengthened its executive team with the appointments of Sébastien Lemoine as vice president of international sales and market development, and François Cathelineau as vice president of operations.
 
With 19 years of successful experience combining strategic and operational responsibilities in the medical device industry, Lemoine will manage Vexim’s international commercial development in countries such as Brazil, China, South Africa, Australia, and South Korea. Vexim estimates that international sales outside the United States could reach 25 percent of its overall sales by 2020.
 
Before joining Vexim, Lemoine was vice president of the Large Joints Business Unit at Tornier. There, he led one of the three global Business Units whose turnover reached about 40 million euros. He developed a successful commercial strategy in more than 30 countries in collaboration with subsidiaries and distributors. In 2014 he notably drove revenues up 10 percent in a flat market. At Tornier, Lemoine also served on corporate committees such as the Intellectual Property Board, Grants & Donations, and Corporate Compliance.
 
Prior to his role at Tornier, Lemoine was business unit director of Spine at Zimmer Holdings Inc. in France. In this role he executed the integration of the product portfolio following the acquisition of Abbott Spine, and grew the business from 2.5 million euros to 5 million euros in two years. He joined Zimmer France in 2007 as director of marketing.
 
Earlier, Lemoine worked for 10 years at Stryker Corp. in various roles including R&D, European marketing, and business development. He graduated from SupMeca Paris with a mechanical engineering degree, and he also has an M.B.A.
 
Cathelineau will lead R&D, manufacturing, supply chain, clinical studies, quality, reimbursement, and regulatory affairs teams to support Vexim’s growth and build operational excellence. Strategic projects within this organization include the development and completion of the Spinejack U.S. Food and Drug Administration study in the United States, the development of new and innovative products for vertebral fractures treatment, and the implementation of an operational structure to support Vexim’s growth.
 
Cathelineau brings 15 years of successful experience in product development and operations management in several industries and international environments. Before joining Vexim he was leading the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) service supply chain at GE Healthcare, supporting a $1.4 billion business, and a member of the global service supply chain leadership team. He joined GE Heathcare in 2005 and held different positions with increasing responsibilities within manufacturing, new product introduction, quality management, product development, and support for sales operations. He worked earlier for the automotive group PSA and began his career in 2001 at Péchiney Alcan.
 
Cathelineau has a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Ecole MinesParisTech and a master’s degree in finance and economics from Sciences-Po Paris.
 
Based in Balma, near Toulouse (France), Vexim is a medical device company founded in February 2006. The firm creates and markets minimally-invasive solutions for treating traumatic spinal pathologies. Benefitting from the financial support of its longstanding shareholder, Truffle Capital¹ and from BPI public subsidies, Vexim has designed and developed the SpineJack, an implant capable of repairing a fractured vertebra and restoring the balance of the spinal column. The company also developed the Masterflow, a solution for mixing and injecting orthopedic cement that enhances the accuracy of the injection and optimizes the overall surgical procedure. The company has 62 employees, including its own sales teams in Europe and a network of international distributors.

Vexim has been listed on Alternext Paris since May 2012.
 
The revolutionary aspect of the SpineJack lies in its ability to restore a fractured vertebra to its original shape, restore the spinal column’s optimal anatomy and thus remove pain and enable the patient to recover their functional capabilities, according to Vexim. Thanks to a specialized range of instruments, inserting the implants into the vertebra is carried out by minimally-invasive surgery, guided by X-ray, in approximately 30 minutes, enabling the patient to be discharged shortly after surgery. The SpineJack range consists of three titanium implants with three different diameters, thus covering 95 percent of vertebral fractures and all patient morphologies. SpineJack technology benefits from the support of international scientific experts in the field of spinal surgery and worldwide patent protection through 2029.
 
The Masterflow² is a solution for mixing and injecting orthopedic cement that enhances the accuracy of the injection and optimizes the overall surgical procedure for treating vertebral compression fractures. The device provides a better control of the injection of biomaterials into the spine. A complement of the SpineJack, the Masterflow stands out for being both easy to use and precise, particularly in its ability to stop the cement delivery instantly without inertia. The Masterflow contributes to reducing pain in patients. Its first sales were recorded in the United States in February 2015, and the system has also received the CE marking in February 2015, a mandatory conformity mark for products marketed in Europe.

References:
1. Founded in 2001 in Paris, Truffle Capital is a leading independent European private equity firm. It is dedicated to investing in and building technology leaders in the IT, life sciences and energy sectors. Truffle Capital manages 550 million euros via FCPRs and FCPIs, the latter offering tax rebates (funds are blocked during seven to 10 years).
2. This medical device is a regulated health product that, with regard to these regulations, bears the CE mark.