Sharad H. Joshi

CEO

Sharad Joshi is a Global entrepreneurial medical devices CEO with a strong track record driving rapid global growth and laying the foundations for sustained success through strategic and product innovation, proven marketing and distribution channel building, and M&A/partnership leadership. He is a leader who fosters a mission-focused, fun, and collaborative environment, leading makeovers of scalable management teams and organizations while nurturing future-critical next-generation talent.

With over 35 years of experience in the medical device field, including management positions as President and CEO, President and COO, New Business Development, Marketing, International Sales, and R&D at NanoDx, Microline, Blue Torch, Alliant Medical Technologies, and Boston Scientific, Sharad brings experience in creative product development, marketing, technical sales instrumentation, and capital equipment to Biotex.

Before joining Bayou Surgical, Sharad was the President and CEO of Satio, Inc., bringing the next generation of consumer diagnostics and therapeutics to market. Prior to his role at Satio, Sharad was the President & CEO of NanoDx, Inc., a Point of Care In-vitro diagnostic for rapid identification of biomarkers using a nano-wire technology.

Sharad is on the board of MassMedic Council, the largest MedTech association in the US. He also coaches CEOs and is a Senior Advisor to the Onstott Group, a senior executive search firm in Massachusetts.

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Ashok Gowda, PhD

Founder and CEO
Biotex, Inc.

Ashok Gowda is the founder and CEO of Biotex, Inc., an expert product design and development company and FDA-registered manufacturer of new medical technology based in Houston, TX.

Under his direction, Biotex has brought numerous early-stage technologies to market, successful commercialization, and exit. He oversees internal development programs and partnering activities, where the company works with other physicians and entrepreneurs to navigate the process of company formation, funding, development execution, regulatory clearance, and commercialization.

While running Biotex, Ashok co-founded and served as President & Chief Operating Officer at Visualase, Inc., which was acquired by Medtronic for $100M in late 2014.

Aside from his role in Biotex, he is an active investor, advisor, and board member for various early-stage medical technology companies. He is a managing member of Medtex Ventures, a $50M early-stage VC firm and partner with Biotex. He has previously served as principal investigator on more than 15 NIH grants, authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications and abstracts, and is an inventor on more than 50 patents.

Ashok received his Bachelor of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering from Vanderbilt University and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Bioengineering from Texas A&M University.

Bryan M. Burt, MD, FACS

Co-Founder

Dr. Bryan Burt is Professor and Chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles). He is a robotic surgeon, surgeon-scientist, clinical trialist, editor, innovator, and entrepreneur.

Dr. Burt completed his undergraduate education at New York University before pursuing his medical degree at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. He then completed residencies in general and thoracic surgery at the Brigham & Women’s Hospital of Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Burt is board-certified in surgery and thoracic surgery and has advanced expertise in robotic thoracic surgery. He now leads an NIH-funded research laboratory and has completed several investigator-initiated clinical trials of novel immunotherapeutic strategies for patients with thoracic malignancies. His contributions to the field of thoracic surgery are extended through his role as Feature Editor at the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.

While Dr. Burt is a recipient of numerous honors and prestigious awards, his ultimate passion is to elevate the outstanding care of the patients served at UCLA, personally caring for these individuals and investigating solutions for the problems that affect them.

Manish Ahuja

Chief Technology Officer
Biotex, Inc.

Manish Ahuja has over 13 years of extensive experience as Director of Research & Development in medical, laboratory, and in vitro diagnostic devices, with extensive experience and special expertise in the design and development of medical and laboratory devices in various franchise portfolios, including but not limited to neurosurgery, interventional radiology, vascular system, pain management, orthopedics, general surgery, gynecology, and urology.

Manish joined Biotex in 2010 and is now the company’s Chief Technology Officer. He leads cross-functional research and development teams comprised of industrial designers, software architects, developers, and engineers to produce and sustain premium, innovative medical products for Biotex and partner clients. He also directs and manages Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs.

Before joining Biotex, Manish worked as Director of Engineering at Ansh Labs, LLC, where he envisioned, architected, designed, tested, and actualized innovative laboratory devices. He also led image guidance and interventional pain management groups while working as Director of Device Engineering with Minrad, Inc., where he was involved in the development of a drug delivery system for human anesthesia and analgesia.

Manish holds an M.S. in Mechanical Systems and Design from The University of Texas at Austin and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi.

Andre Marquette

Vice President, Business Development
Biotex, Inc.

Andre Marquette joined Biotex in 2018 as Vice President of Business Development, bringing to the company more than 25 years of global commercial experience with early-stage healthcare companies

Before joining Biotex, Andre held leadership positions in Marketing, Sales, Business Development, and International at NeuroPace, Visualase (acquired by Medtronic), St. Jude Medical, Nanospectra, Cyberonics, and EmCare. He has also been part of the senior management teams at three early-stage companies that achieved highly successful exits during his tenure.

As the 3rd commercial employee at Visualase (MIS for cranial ablation), Andre was Vice President of Sales and Marketing, joining to execute the full commercial launch, which resulted in the sale of the company to Medtronic Neurosurgery for $100M (more than ten equity invested). During his 5+ years of tenure, cumulative sales grew from less than $1 million to over $80 million.

Prior to Visualase, Andre joined Cyberonics (neuromodulation) as the 2nd commercial employee to execute the global launch of the VNS (Vagus Nerve Stimulation) Therapy System. During his 12+ years of tenure, cumulative sales grew from 0 to more than $800 million, an IPO was executed, and a market cap of $1.2 billion was achieved.

Before joining Cyberonics, Andre was part of the management team that grew and sold EmCare to AMR, Inc. for $400 million.

Andre holds a B.A. in Biology from the University of Texas at Austin and an M.B.A. from Rice University.

Charles Houssiere

Chief Design Officer
Biotex, Inc.

Charles Houssiere is the Chief Design Officer at Biotex and is primarily involved in neurosurgery, cardiology, orthopedics, and respiratory medicine projects. He leads design, including mechanical, industrial, and operations, for all projects within the company that Biotex manages for various local and international clients.

In 2014, Charles was the Lead Engineer and Manufacturing Manager throughout the initial development and commercialization of the Visualase Product line of Biotex, acting as the primary engineering contact for the acquisition by Medtronic for up to $105M.

Before joining Biotex, Charles held positions in startup medical device development at several companies for over 20 years. He has worked as a Development Engineer at Avail Medical (now a subsidiary of Flextronics) and Fairway Medical, where he was involved in designing electro-mechanical medical devices ranging from optical implants to drug delivery systems to tissue incubation and transport solutions. At IDev Technologies (acquired by Abbott) and MicroNova, he was involved in stent delivery and micropulse oximetry projects.

Charles received his Masters in Mechanical Engineering from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, in 2007, where he completed work in mechanical design using FEA analysis and electronic packaging. He received his Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, in 2003. He is also a graduate of The Kinkaid School and is involved in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and Gulf Coast Medical Device Manufacturers.