Medical technology company MediBeacon fills new C-suite role

MediBeacon, Inc., an St. Louis medical technology company has appointed Dr. Steve Miller to the newly created position of chief medical officers.

Miller, who served as MediBeacon’s board member since 2015, will retire in 2021 after serving for eight years as Cigna’s executive vice president and chief medical officer. Cigna is a Connecticut-based provider of health insurance and pharmacy benefit plans. Miller was chief medical officer at St. Louis' Express Scripts since 2005, a company that Cigna purchased for $54 billion.

Miller worked as vice president and chief physician at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis before joining Express Scripts. Miller earned his medical degree from the University of Missouri Kansas City. He then completed an internal medicine residency in Colorado, and received an MBA at Washington University. Miller was also a fellow at the University of Alabama in Birmingham in pathology and nephrology, at Washington U in nephrology, and at University of California in San Francisco in cardiology research.

MediBeacon, headquartered in the Ballas Place Building in Creve Coeur is working on the development of proprietary fluorescent tracer agent technology with transdermal detection to measure organ functions. MediBeacon's Transdermal GFR Measurement System (glomerular filter rate) is designed to measure GFR in real time, an indicator for kidney function. It uses a skin-sensor and fluorescent tracer.

MediBeacon products are still in different stages of clinical testing and have not been approved for human usage. However, a regulatory filing states that by 2022 it will have completed the enrollment of a pivotal study in the U.S. as well as China. The final regulatory submission from the company is expected to be submitted in the second quarter.

Steve Hanley (mediBeacon co-founder and CEO) told the Business Journal via email on Wednesday that "now that MediBeacon is finished with enrollment in the phase 3 study focused on renal disease, we believe it's the right time for Dr. Miller to take over the role as CMO at MediBeacon."

Phase 3 safety, pharmacokinetics (absorption, metabolism etc.) The study examines the use of Lumitrace's (relmapirazin), a fluorescent compound, with the MediBeaconTM TGFR measurement system in subjects who are normal or renally compromised to assess kidney function.

Hanley stated that the company is investing more in clinical programs focusing on the use fluorescent tracer agents, and transdermal measurements. In addition to its kidney program, the company has invested in studies using the MediBeacon Technology in gastroenterology and eye care.

Hanley stated that Miller's new role will be to drive a variety of clinical and strategy initiatives.

Hanley stated in a release that "Dr. Miller is well versed on the MediBeacon technology and how it can be used to meet a variety of medical needs." His intimate knowledge of the business combined with his experience in healthcare policy, medicine, clinical, and research provides a unique and valuable perspective.

Miller stated in a press release that "understanding kidney function is a clinical challenge." "Real-time and accurate renal function measurement has the potential to make a meaningful impact on patient management." MediBeacon continues to strive to develop technology that will improve health outcomes while reducing the costs associated with kidney disease.

MediBeacon Inc. is ranked among the largest biotech and agtech companies in St. Louis, according to local employment. Hanley reported that the company has 29 employees total and about 20 in St. Louis.

The company was formed in early 2012, after MediBeacon co-founders purchased 22 patents for the optical diagnostic agent program of Mallinckrodt to commercialize this technology.