Team

With over 25 years of global experience, more specifically in the development and marketing of breakthrough innovations in the cardiovascular field, Soad brings an extensive experience and a proven ability in leading innovative companies through rapid development and growth phases. She recently co-founded and served as CEO of T-Heart. Prior to this, Soad held several executive and senior management positions in various MedTech companies ranging from start-ups to multinational corporations. Soad holds an MBA in international business and a biomedical engineering degree.

Pomme is a PhD in biomedical engineering with a strong interest in quality assurance and regulatory affairs. She began her career as a study director and then operations manager at Aginko Research, a preclinical and clinical CRO specializing in osteoarticular diseases. She then worked as a senior business manager at Assystem Care, a consulting firm for life science and medical technology companies. Pomme holds a master's degree in bioengineering from Polytech'Clermont-Ferrand, France, a PhD in cellular and biomedical sciences from the University of Bern (Inselspital), Switzerland, and a university degree in regulatory affairs from ISIFC, France.

Pomme joined Novostia in 2019 as quality and regulatory affairs manager, with the mission to establish and maintain the quality system according to ISO 13485, and to develop the technical documentation according to ISO 5840. In addition, she is responsible for clinical affairs. For all three roles, she works closely with external consultants to establish and deploy strategies and measures in line with Novostia's objectives.

Pomme brings to the Novostia team her expertise in quality management and regulatory affairs in the medical device industry. Her academic background allows her to understand the different aspects of the project, especially biomedical. Her previous professional experience is an asset for the biological, in vivo, and clinical evaluation of the TRIFLO valve. In this project, Pomme oversees the management of several key partners on aspects of paramount importance: quality, regulatory affairs and animal and human trials.

Felix is a mechanical engineer dedicated to the development and optimization of industrial processes. He has gained an extensive experience in medical device manufacturing thanks to Johnson & Johnson, Endosense, acquired by St. Jude Medical, and Symetis, the company behind the development of the TAVI bioprosthesis, acquired by Boston Scientific.

Felix holds a Master of Science degree from Arts et Métiers ParisTech, with further training in finance and leadership from INSEAD and a Lean Six sigma Black Belt certificate.

Felix joined Novostia in the summer of 2022 as Product and Process Development Manager with the mission of coordinating the outsourced activities in view of the first human implantations and further CE marking and FDA approval. In addition, he has the key role of developing additional valve sizes and accessories proprietary to Novostia in order to accelerate and scale up clinical trials.

Felix brings to Novostia his technical expertise in various manufacturing processes, his knowledge of the medical device manufacturing players and his expertise in the regulation of Class III devices in the EU and US. His previous work experience provides him with a comprehensive overview and a deep understanding of the steps required to bring a device to market.

Corentin is a young mechanical engineer with a passion for biomechanics and heart valve technology. He started his career as a Process Engineer at Johnson & Johnson in the class 3 implantable medical devices Business Unit. He then worked at Xeltis as an R&D Engineer in charge of polymer heart valve characterization and participated in academic research on osteoarthritis at the Cartilage and Tissue Engineering Laboratory of the University of California at San Diego. Corentin holds a master's degree in mechanical and biomechanical engineering from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland.

Corentin joined Novostia in 2020 as a Development Engineer, with the mission to actively contribute to the development of the heart valve and to the understanding of its performance and behavior. He now leads the verification and validation activities of the product and process compliance to standards. In particular, he is overseeing all in vitro testing that will lead to the CE submission.

Corentin brings to the Novostia team up-to-date knowledge of valve mechanics and standards for heart valve substitutes.  His master's degree allows him to understand the TRIFLO valve from various aspects - its mechanical properties, materials, hydrodynamics, durability, cavitation - while using advanced investigation tools such as numerical simulation. In the TRIFLO project, Corentin intends to focus on the testing of the valve in vitro, a task that requires both the supervision of several strategic partners and the writing of numerous protocols and technical reports.