About Benvenue Medical
Since 2004, Benvenue Medical has been guided by the core principles of reproducibility, ease-of-use, and simplicity. We are driven to enable minimally invasive lumbar fusion procedures by providing surgeons with innovative products that are designed to reduce complications, pain and medications, and shorten hospital stays.
- Advanced materials expertise and engineering know-how
- Proven product-loyal customer base
- More than 3,000 patients treated
- Promising pipeline of innovative products
Our Products
- Luna XD
Luna XD is a multi-expandable interbody fusion device that combines ALIF principles with a controlled posterior approach to provide anterior column stability, strength and fusion support in patients with symptomatic degenerative disc disease (DDD). - Orbit
Orbit is a minimally invasive discectomy system that uses a small, posterior incision to effectively achieve efficient disruption and removal of disc tissue, endplate preparation and improved workflow.
Our Vision
Be the global leader in minimally invasive lumbar fusion by leveraging creativity, material competency and transformed solutions for patients, surgeons, hospital and ASC procedures.
Our Mission
To develop innovative solutions that enable the least invasive lumbar fusion procedures.
Management Team
Robert Weigle | CEO & Director
Robert Weigle joined Benvenue Medical in 2009 and brings over 20 years of experience in medical devices, including relevant neuro/spine experience at Johnson & Johnson, Baxter, Aesculap and Neurocare.
Laurent Schaller | Founder & Chief Technical Officer
Laurent Schaller has over 20 years of experience in the medical device industry, with a focus on development of interventional/catheter-based tools, micro devices, and surgical products. He has played key roles with companies such as Target Therapeutics, Cardima and Coalescent Surgical.
Rick Simmons | Vice President, Sales & Marketing
Rick Simmons joined the company in 2014 and brings over 30 years of commercialization experience in the medical device industry. Rick has held leadership and corporate consulting roles at DePuy Synthes Spine, TranS1, NuVasive, Innovasive Devices, Acufex and most recently was President of g2m MedTech Advisors.
Board of Directors
Michael Kramer | Executive Chairman of the Board
Mike joined the Benvenue board in June 2018 as Chairman and was appointed to the position of Executive Chairman in August 2018. Prior to joining CRG in 2017 as Operating Partner, Mike had significant experience in senior management roles at several medical device companies, including TriVascular, ATS Medical and CABG Medical, Inc. Prior to entering industry, he was a manager in the assurance and advisory services practice at the professional services firm of Ernst & Young LLP.
Luke Düster | Director
Luke Düster is a member of CRG’s Founders Group and serves as Partner and member of CRG’s investment committee. Mr. Düster leads CRG’s investment process from sourcing and due diligence through realization. He is also responsible for portfolio management and portfolio company exits. Mr. Düster also serves on the board of directors of several CRG portfolio companies, both as a director and as an observer, and serves portfolio company senior management teams as an advisor on financial, strategic and operational initiatives. He has led investments in companies such as Neotract, Nevro, Omeros, BioDelivery Sciences, Strongbridge Biopharma, Silk Road Medical, NanoString Technologies and many others.
Prior to CRG, Mr. Düster was an investment banker at Harris Williams & Co., where he advised private equity and corporate clients across a broad range of M&A assignments. Mr. Düster also held investment banking roles at the Wallach Company, a regional investment banking boutique, and at the Nord Companies, a healthcare advisory firm.
Mr. Düster received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1997, where he graduated summa cum laude. He received an M.B.A with honors from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 2004.
Kevin Reilly | Director
Kevin Reilly is a Vice President for CRG, which he joined in 2014. Although he has worked on investments across all healthcare sectors, Kevin predominately focuses on medical device investment opportunities. CRG has committed over $1 billion in capital across 20+ investments in medical device companies. Prior to CRG, Kevin worked within Stifel’s Healthcare Investment Banking Group – focusing on raising capital for healthcare companies, through IPOs, follow-on equity and credit offerings. He also advised on numerous M&A transactions totaling to several billion dollars in transaction value. Kevin graduated from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Information Systems.
John J. Chopack, Jr | Director
John is a Principal and founding partner of Inspiros. He manages the day-to-day operations of Inspiros and is responsible for investment origination, portfolio company management and investor relations. John has 14 years of experience in venture capital investing in medtech companies. John has also worked on Wall Street with Investec and Techvest as a medtech analyst. Prior to his financial career, John was an orthopedic sales representative for Wright Medical and Encore Orthopedics.
Jeff Thramann, MD | Director
Jeff Thramann is a serial entrepreneur who was the founder and chairman of Lanx, a spinal implant company sold to Biomet, US Radiosurgery, an oncology services company sold to Alliance Healthcare Services (NASDAQ; AIQ), ProNerve, an intraoperative monitoring company sold to Waud Capital Partners and American Physicians, a hospitalist company sold to Towerbrook Partners. Prior to pursuing entrepreneurial endeavors, Thramann was the founder of Boulder Neurosurgical Associates in Boulder, CO. Thramann is the named inventor on over 50 U.S. and international issued and pending patents. He completed his neurosurgical residency and complex spinal reconstruction fellowship at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, AZ. Medical school was completed at Cornell University Medical College in NYC and his undergraduate degree was earned at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
