RefleXion Medical Strengthens Management Team to Bring Biology-Guided Radiotherapy into the Clinic

Kathy O’Shaughnessy, PhD, Joins as VP Clinical, Regulatory, and Quality Assurance; Calvin Huntzinger Joins as Senior Director of Product

HAYWARD, Calif., April 21, 2016 – RefleXion Medical, a medical equipment company developing the first biology-guided radiotherapy (BgRT) system for targeted, personalized cancer treatment, announced today that it has appointed Kathy O’Shaughnessy as Vice President of Clinical, Regulatory, and Quality Assurance.  In addition, the company also announced that radiotherapy industry veteran, Calvin Huntzinger, has joined as Senior Director of Product.

“As we move into the next stage of development, the addition of these two seasoned experts brings tremendous industry and commercialization expertise to the RefleXion management team,” said Dr. Samuel Mazin, Co-Founder and President of RefleXion. “Kathy has a track-record of high achievement throughout her career and has gained multiple FDA and global regulatory approvals for a broad range of medical devices pertinent to RefleXion.  Cal is a highly respected and successful executive in radiotherapy equipment and brings a wealth of knowledge to RefleXion having defined, developed and deployed some of the most important products in radiotherapy.”

O’Shaughnessy will be responsible for building RefleXion’s clinical, regulatory and quality organizations as the company seeks FDA and CE mark clearance for its BgRT system. She brings more than 18 years of experience leading these disciplines at a broad range of innovative venture-backed companies such as R2 Technology (pioneer in computer-aided analysis in mammography and CT lung), Xoft (novel electronic brachytherapy device), Allux Medical (UV light treating nasal inflammation and psoriasis) and Miramar Labs (microwave devices for aesthetics).  She has completed two PMA approvals, 19 PMA supplements and multiple 510(k) clearances of varying complexity. O’Shaughnessy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics and Mathematics from the University of Victoria, Canada, and received her Master’s Degree and Doctorate in Physics from Stanford University.

“RefleXion’s approach represents a significant advance for patients and uniquely leverages a proven modality for visualizing cancer with one of the most effective ways to treat cancer.  I look forward to working with the company to bring BgRT into the clinic,” said O’Shaughnessy.

Huntzinger will be responsible for leading RefleXion’s product definition and market-entry efforts as well as overseeing clinical partnerships with premier academic cancer centers. Spending more than 25 years at Varian Medical Systems, Huntzinger played a central role in the introduction of many innovative radiation oncology products into clinical practice, including multiple radiosurgery products platforms, treatment planning solutions, on-board imaging and image-guidance technologies and the first dynamic multi-leaf collimator.

At Varian, Huntzinger held management roles of increasing responsibility including, most recently, Senior Director of Medical Affairs and Senior Director of Surgical Sciences.  Huntzinger holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Sciences from California State University East Bay and earned a Master’s of Radiological Health Physics from San Jose State University.  He is a named inventor on three patents.

“RefleXion’s technology is one of the most significant radiation oncology innovations I have encountered in my long career in the oncology field.  I am very excited about this new class of device that leverages a patient’s unique biology to personalize and tailor radiotherapy, which has the potential to improve treatments for cancer patients and their families,” said Huntzinger.

RefleXion’s biology-guided radiotherapy system (BgRT) is the first to utilize both anatomic (Computed Tomography) and functional (Positron Emission Tomography) imaging data to guide personalized radiotherapy.  Delivering targeted treatment based on the patient’s individual biology, PET-CT guided radiotherapy has the potential to deliver a higher dose of therapeutic radiation to cancerous lesions while sparing surrounding healthy tissue.