Otolith Labs Expands Leadership Team with the Appointment of Dan Wagner as its Chief Commercial Officer and Raphael Michel to its Board of Directors

Company strengthens its team with highly experienced medical device executives to gear up for a market launch in 2025

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Otolith Labs, a medical technology company developing non-invasive wearable medical devices for the treatment of vestibular disorders, appointed Dan Wagner as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) and Raphael Michel as an independent Board member. Dan and Raphael both bring a depth and breadth of expertise to Otolith Labs with a combined 40+ years of experience in bringing consumer and medical devices to market.

Dan is spearheading Otolith’s go-to-market plan and will build out Otolith’s infrastructure related to downstream operations in market access, medical affairs, sales operations, and marketing. Otolith Labs’ technology is a head-worn wearable device being investigated for the treatment of vertigo episode symptoms associated with vestibular migraines. The headband device applies localized mechanical stimulation to the vestibular system through precisely calibrated vibrations. It is primarily intended for use by chronic vertigo patients, for whom there are limited treatment options.

“Dan has been working with Otolith in an advisory role for over 5 years, so we are thrilled to have him full-time. He brings with him a long track record of successfully commercializing medical devices and adds significant experience to our strategic development and the market launch of our technology,” said Sam Owen, CEO and Founder of Otolith Labs.

Dan Wagner is a career medical device and biotechnology executive with more than 17 years of industry experience. Dan’s global experience has touched markets in over 60 countries and over a dozen healthcare specialties working with capital equipment, diagnostics, therapeutics, DME, and biologics. He has served in numerous leadership roles at Olympus Corporation, HeartSciences, Signature Biologics, and most recently as the Chief Commercial Officer at Spark Biomedical.

Throughout his career, Dan has led corporate growth objectives, defined business operations, and integrated strategy and data into a corporate cadence for success. Dan will develop Otolith’s strategic commercialization plan and build out the sales and marketing infrastructure.

Otolith also recently appointed Raphael Michel as an independent Board member. Raphael has over 20 years of technology and business innovation experience and a proven track record of building industry-changing companies. He has received rigorous scientific and business training from top institutions like École Polytechnique (France), Stanford University, and UC Berkeley Haas. Raphael started as the first employee at Vessix Vascular (acquired by Boston Scientific), led the development and commercialization of a new medical robotic system at Hansen Medical (acquired by Auris Health), then co-founded Eargo, the first-ever hearing aid company to go public through an IPO in the US, leading it from inception through commercialization and raising $70 million in financing, and Onera Health, where he led an international team with the mission to democratize in-home diagnosis and management of chronic conditions. Most recently, he was working at Google's X Labs.

“Raphael is one of our earliest industry advisors and has been providing critical counsel to Otolith Labs since 2016. We are so grateful to have his talent and leadership to help guide Otolith towards its market launch and beyond,” said Sam Owen.

About Otolith Labs

Otolith Labs is developing prescription medical devices for the treatment of vestibular disorders, conditions experienced by millions of Americans. Otolith’s patented technology, which received Breakthrough Device Designation from the FDA for the treatment of chronic vertigo, uses precisely tuned vibrations to interact with the acceleration sensors in the inner ear, mitigating the symptoms of vertigo. Otolith is conducting clinical trials to evaluate its technology as an immediate symptom-relief treatment for chronic vertigo associated with vestibular disorders.

Media:
Karen Sharma
MacDougall Advisors
ksharma@macdougall.bio