Galvanize Appoints Doug Godshall as Executive Chairman, Zhen Su, MD, to Board of Directors

July 2, 2024—Galvanize Therapeutics Inc., a developer of pulsed electric field (PEF) technologies, announced the appointments of Doug Godshall as Executive Chairman and Zhen Su, MD, to its board of directors.

According to the company, Godshall most recently was CEO of Shockwave Medical from 2017 until the sale of the company to Johnson & Johnson for $13.1 billion in May 2024. Dr. Su is CEO of Marengo Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech company that is developing novel T-cell receptor-targeting antibodies to provide lifelong protection against cancer and other diseases.

Galvanize stated that its Aliya PEF system and the Inumi Flex needle gained FDA 510(k) clearance and is commercially available in the United States for the surgical ablation of soft tissue. They are not currently commercially available in other geographies.

“Over the last several years I have been impressed by the clinical impact Galvanize products are having on patients and look forward to this expanded role as Executive Chairman where I can work more closely with the team on the Inumi Flex launch and scaling the commercial business,” stated Mr. Godshall in the company’s press release. “I believe the interventional oncology (IO) space is primed for growth, as new advancements, by Galvanize and others, will make devices a more integral component of the treatment continuum.”

Also in Galvanize’s press release, Dr. Su commented, “Having spent almost three decades of my career studying tumor immunology and developing immune-oncology treatments, I am impressed that Galvanize is developing innovative medical devices with exciting clinical impacts for patients, especially for late-stage cancer patients.”

Dr. Su continued, “Preclinically, there appears to be a synergy between Galvanize’s Aliya energy with standard-of-care IO therapeutics, particularly neoantigen release, which we hope to prove out in trials. I look forward to joining the board of directors to support the company in its ambition to build strong clinical evidence and pursue indications to establish Aliya in the care pathway for patients with solid tumors.”

Aliya, with the Inumi Flex needle, is delivers PEF energy through an endoscope, enabling physicians to reach and nonthermally ablate soft tissue lesions. Aliya delivers high voltage, short duration electrical energy locally to alter the transmembrane potential of cells, which results in loss of homeostasis, inducing nonthermal programmed cell death without denaturing cellular proteins and the extracellular matrix.

In addition to focal ablation, preclinical and previous clinical studies suggest this process may release antigens from the dying tumor cells that may stimulate an immune response for a potential systemic effect beyond focal ablation. Aliya can be delivered using either an endoscopic or percutaneous approach, noted the company.