ST PAUL, Minn.--St. Jude Medical, Inc., (NYSE:STJ) announced today that Mark D. Carlson, M.D., has been appointed chief medical officer and senior vice president, Clinical Affairs, of St. Jude Medical’s Cardiac Rhythm Management (CRM) Division, effective Nov. 13.
With more than 25 years of experience in patient care, public policy development and cardiac research, Dr. Carlson is widely considered one of the foremost experts in cardiology and cardiac electrophysiology. Among his many accomplishments, Dr. Carlson recently chaired the Heart Rhythm Society task force that developed policy recommendations regarding post market surveillance of medical device performance.
In this new role, Dr. Carlson will be responsible for coordinating clinical studies that investigate new and existing cardiac devices and therapies and will be St. Jude Medical’s chief liaison to the medical community.
“As a physician who has worked closely with patients and industry stakeholders in helping to promote superior care, research, education and sound public policy, Dr. Carlson will provide St. Jude Medical with important insights and perspective,” said Michael J. Coyle, president of St. Jude Medical’s Cardiac Rhythm Management business. “He appreciates the need to deliver and communicate about technology that can truly improve lives. We are delighted that Dr. Carlson has agreed to become part of the St. Jude Medical team.”
Dr. Carlson, 51, most recently served as professor of medicine and associate vice president for government relations at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. In addition, he served on the Medical Devices Dispute Resolution Panel for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and has served on Medicare advisory committees. Dr. Carlson also recently chaired the Health Policy Committee of the Heart Rhythm Society, and chaired the Policy Conference on Pacemaker and ICD Performance sponsored by the Heart Rhythm Society and the FDA, as well as chairing its subsequent task force which developed the recently published policy recommendations on these issues.
In 2003, Dr. Carlson worked as a Robert Wood Johnson Fellow on the staff of Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch on legislation and issues including the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act, the Cord Blood Stem Cell Act, and medical liability litigation reform.
Dr. Carlson received his M.D. from the University of Kansas and received a master’s degree in public policy from Duke University. He trained in cardiology and cardiac electrophysiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital and at Harvard Medical School. His research on arrhythmias has resulted in more than 150 publications.
Dr. Carlson is a member of the American College of Cardiology/Heart Rhythm Society National Cardiac Data Registry Implantable Defibrillator Registry Committee. He is also a board member of the Heart Rhythm Foundation and a board member of the American Heart Association Cleveland Division.
Dr. Carlson offered the following comments, “In this role, I look forward to having an opportunity to influence the science, patient care and health policy in the electrophysiology field. Having served on an independent panel of physicians for St. Jude Medical, I have long-respected the integrity and innovation of St. Jude Medical’s people and products.”
“The addition of Dr. Carlson will bring added strength and leadership to St. Jude Medical’s accomplished CRM Clinical Affairs department, and his extensive experience will provide great value in not only clinical trial design and execution, but also on the health policy side,” said Eric S. Fain, M.D., executive vice president for development and clinical/regulatory affairs of St. Jude Medical’s CRM division.
About St. Jude Medical
St. Jude Medical is dedicated to making life better for cardiac, neurological and chronic pain patients worldwide through excellence in medical device technology and services. The Company has five major focus areas that include: cardiac rhythm management, atrial fibrillation, cardiac surgery, cardiology and neuromodulation. Headquartered in St. Paul, Minn., St. Jude Medical employs approximately 11,000 people worldwide. For more information, please visit www.sjm.com.
