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Partners

With over 100 years of experience, US-Japan MedTech Advisors Partners provides market access solutions to medical device manufacturers interested in entering the market, with a particular focus on the United States, the world's largest medical device market. We will deliver it.

Jack Moorman

Partner

Jack Moorman is a Partner in Nichibei MedTech Advisors and the Principal at LeVaunt, LLC.  Both are consulting firms providing advisory services to companies and organizations, particularly early stage ventures in the fields of healthcare and wellness consumer products. He was also recently honored to be named Visiting Faculty Member, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University.

Jack is also Chairman of US-Japan Medtech Frontiers, a nonprofit organization.  US-Japan Medtech Frontiers organizes conferences and symposia in Japan to promote collaboration between the US and Japan to create and commercialize novel medical devices.  Now in its Fourth year, USJMF has organized conferences in Sendai, Osaka, Hiroshima, and in 2017 the conference will be in Okinawa.  In addition, each year USJMF has organized a symposium for Japanese senior executives held in Tokyo with the support of the US Embassy.  USJMF is also a strong supporter of the Japan Biodesign Program, now in its second year.
 

With an undergraduate degree in Engineering from the University of Illinois, Jack initially worked in the semiconductor industry leading groups in packaging, testing, assembly, and military products. Jack was the first employee sponsored by Intel to attend the prestigious Stanford Business School Sloan Program where he received an MS in Management. On returning to Intel after the program, he transferred into the semiconductor equipment side of the business and after assignments in manufacturing, field service and marketing moved to Fairchild Test Systems where he became Director of Engineering. After Fairchild he spent five years as founder and director at GenRad Semiconductor Test, Inc. Subsequently Jack was hired by Nanometrics, Inc., public company, where he was promoted to President. Following Nanometrics, Jack did company turn-arounds in semiconductor equipment, medical devices, and in LCD manufacturing equipment. In 1992 Jack founded Cardiac Mariners where he was co-inventor of the technology for a novel x-ray system. In 1999, he founded MCT Medical which was merged with Vivant Medical and where he was CEO and co-inventor of their microwave ablation technology. Vivant was later sold to Tyco.

Jack has been involved in a wide array of companies, technology, and products. In addition to a turn-around in a semiconductor equipment company and Board membership at one of the largest U.S. providers of skilled nursing and assisted living, he has consulted with a Russian investment group on fiber lasers, a Chinese company supplying polyurethane materials, a ski equipment company, a company supplying consumer products to big box stores, Japanese companies looking for medical device acquisitions, consulted with two orthopedics robotic companies, developed a novel device for sentinel lymph node biopsy, and has been assisting Japanese companies in developing innovative medical devices.  To date, he has fourteen issued U.S. patents. 

Kirk Zeller

Partner

Kirk Zeller is passionate about bringing to market innovative medical devices and has more than twenty-four years of experience doing so in markets around the world.  Determined to become effective at global commercialization Kirk started his career as a heart valves sales rep in Japan and supplemented his industry experience with medical device focused academic research and study in seven different countries.  Kirk’s functional expertise includes sales, marketing, channel management, market development, business development, and commercial development for companies including J&J, Micrus Endovascular, SI-BONE, PneumRx, Japan Lifeline, and Goodman (NIPRO). Over the last two decades Kirk has facilitated the launch of a wide range of medical devices in Japan and other international markets.

Kirk has a DBA from the International School of Management (Paris) and MBA from Imperial College London with a specialization in BioPharma and Health Technology Entrepreneurship. His doctoral dissertation was entitled “European Market Entry Strategies for Venture Capital Financed Medical Device Companies: Where, When, How, and Why” and his MBA thesis was entitled "Financing and Beyond: The Role of Venture Capital in Silicon Valley Based Medical Device Companies." Kirk’s undergraduate studies were completed at Nanzan University (Nagoya), Senshu University (Tokyo), and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

David Smith

Partner

David Smith has been based in Japan for 25 years and brings over two decades of distinguished experienced in the medical device business. He has held management positions in entities ranging from global Fortune 500 companies to Japanese distributors/importers providing him with intimate market and cultural knowledge.

During the course of his career, David has overseen multiple new product launches covering a variety of specialties and in multiple Asian markets. His background is rich in the areas of business development, marketing, sales, regulatory, quality as well as in regional distributor management.

David completed his undergraduate degree at Illinois State University and Nanzan University (Nagoya, Japan) in Asian studies and International Business.

David and Kirk both started their medical device careers working for a Japanese distributor of medical devices.  David and Kirk met when they were both students at Nanzan University in Nagoya, Japan.

Devang Thankor Nichibei Partner. 2021.pn

Devang Thakor

Partner

Devang is a biopharma executive, scientist, and patent and corporate attorney. As the Vice President of Intellectual Property and Legal of a preclinical therapeutic mRNA startup, he is building the IP portfolio for an innovative cellular rejuvenation technology. Through a boutique consultancy, he also provides part-time non-legal scientific, strategic, and business advisory to select companies and organizations.

 

Devang was previously a primary examiner for pharmaceutical patents at the US Patent and Trademark Office. Before that, he developed nucleic acid medicine, regenerative medicine, and biomaterials technologies as a researcher at Harvard Medical School, Kyoto University, and UCLA. He received his PhD and MS in Biomedical Engineering, as well as BS in Mathematics/Applied Science and Psychobiology, from UCLA. He received his JD, with High Tech Law Certificate with corporate specialization and honors, from Santa Clara University. 

 

Please note that Devang does not provide legal services to or through Nichibei MedTech Advisors.

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