Overview

Gender

male

Investor Type

Investment Partner

Dr. Firlik’s career spans neurosurgery, entrepreneurship, and venture capital. He joined Foundation Medical Partners to concentrate on medical device and biopharmaceutical investments.

Prior to Foundation, he was a venture partner at Sprout Group and Managing Director of its healthcare technology spinout, New Leaf Venture Partners.

Previously, he was a principal at Canaan Partners. Dr. Firlik has led numerous venture capital investments and has served as a founder, founding investor, or director of many early stage companies that have grown to become successful market leaders.

Dr. Firlik was a founder and an inventor of the core technology platform of Northstar Neuroscience, a medical device company that pioneered a novel approach to neuromodulation for the treatment of stroke and other disorders. Northstar went public in an IPO in 2006 (NASDAQ: NSTR) and was subsequently acquired by St. Jude Medical.

He recently served as the Chairman of Intelect Medical (acquired by Boston Scientific, NYSE: BSX), a neuromodulation company, and recently served as Chairman of NovaVision, a medical therapeutics firm focusing on neuroplasticity for visual disorders.

His current or recent board seats include BridgePoint Medical, Clear Catheter Systems, Explorys,NeuroVista, SetPoint Medical, Spine Wave, Vertos Medical, and Visiogen (acquired by Abbott, NYSE: ABT).

Dr. Firlik is a member of the Industrial Advisory Board of the Cleveland Clinic Innovations Center. He recently served as a member of the Administrative Board of the Cornell University Council and Chairman of its Technology Transfer Committee and also the Cornell University Biomedical Engineering Advisory Council and the Life Sciences Advisory Board.

Dr. Firlik spent 12 years in the healthcare profession during his medical training and practice as a neurological surgeon. He has published more than 50 articles in the medical literature, written chapters for several medical textbooks, and is the co-editor of a book about cerebrovascular surgery. His scientific work has been presented at many international conferences. He has been an inventor of numerous issued patents.

He studied biology at Cornell University and Oxford University, received his MBA from the University of Pittsburgh, and his MD from Cornell University Medical College. As a board certified neurosurgeon, Dr. Firlik most recently served as Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at the New York University School of Medicine.