Dr. John B. Simpson has established himself as a man
wearing many hats — doctor, pioneer, innovator and
entrepreneur.
This founder has also been responsible for several other
company start-ups and innovations in his field. Earlier in
his career, he invented the original over-the-wire balloon
angioplasty catheter, which led to revolutionary new treatments in coronary disease using catheters rather than
bypass surgery. This invention led to the founding of
Advanced Cardiovascular Systems in 1978, which created
products for these new procedures. Then he founded
Devices for Vascular Intervention Inc. in 1984.
Simpson, never settling for what he’s already done, went
on to found Perclose Inc., which was the first company in
the field of interventional cardiology to produce a device
that enabled patients undergoing a minimally invasive
coronary procedure to have an outpatient procedure, when
previously they would have remained hospitalized for at
least one day.
His other endeavors have included founding
Cardiovascular Imaging Systems and Lumend, which are
both part of larger companies now. Because of his track
record, he is committed to helping other entrepreneurs in
his field, and to do that, he founded DeNovo Ventures, a
venture capital firm helping build world-class companies in
the life sciences industry. Additionally, he gives back to the
next generation by teaching at Stanford University.