Welcome to Our Medtech Talk Podcast Channel
Too often we define the Medtech sector by the number of dollars raised, IPOs helped or companies sold. But the focus neglects the very foundation of the sector - the People. Join the Medtech Talk Podcast each week to hear from entrepreneurs, investors and executives who spend their days developing the tools that make sick people well and health care more efficient.
In this special episode of Medtech Talk, host Geoff Pardo interviews Raymond W. Cohen, CEO of Axonics and winner of the Medtech MVP 2024 Award. The MVP Award recognizes an individual for extraordinary contributions to a medtech company that has successfully advanced an important new product and delivered strong financial returns. This year's award honors Cohen for his visionary leadership and innovative solutions that have propelled Axonics to the forefront of the industry. The pair explore Axonic’s groundbreaking technology, the importance of neuromodulation, and Cohen’s storied career, including focusing on key decisions that led him to become an entrepreneur and ultimately the leader of one of the most successful venture-backed medtech companies of our time.
Raymond W. Cohen is an accredited public company director and currently serves as the CEO and member of the board of directors of Axonics, Inc., (Nasdaq: AXNX) a medical device company focused on the treatment of bladder and bowel disorders. In January 2024, Axonics agreed to be acquired by Boston Scientific Corp for $3.7 billion. In January 2024, Cohen was named the Businessperson of the Year in Orange County, CA’s health industry by the OC Business Journal. In 2023, in only its fourth year of commercial activity in the US, Axonics generated $366 million in revenue at a 75% gross margin and generated nearly $50 million in positive adjusted EBITDA. November 2021, Axonics was ranked on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 listing at the #1 fastest growing company in North America based on growth of 87,000+ percent from 2017 to 2020. In December 2021, Mr. Cohen received a lifetime achievement award from SoCal Bio for his four decades of work in medical technology. In October 2020, Cohen was named as Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young for the Southwest US. Cohen also currently serves as Chairman of privately held BiVACOR, Inc., a company developing a total artificial heart. For 15 years until mid-2021, Cohen served as Chairman of BioLife Solutions Inc. (Nasdaq: BLFS). Previously, Cohen served on the boards of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: SPPI), Zurich-based LifeWatch (LIFE.SW) which was acquired by BioTelemetry (Nasdaq: BEAT) and privately held Syncroness, Inc. sold to ALTEN Group, a French multi-billion-dollar engineering services company From 2010 to 2012, Mr. Cohen served as the CEO of Vessix Vascular, Inc., which was acquired by Boston Scientific Corp. in late 2012. Prior, Cohen was CEO of Nasdaq-listed, Cardiac Science, Inc., ranked by Deloitte as the 4th fastest growing company in North America in 2004. In his career, Mr. Cohen has been directly responsible for raising approx. $2 billion in capital. Mr. Cohen holds a B.S. in Business Management from Binghamton University in NY.
