Former Cochlear Chief Executive Officer Dr. Chris Roberts AO has been appointed as a Non-Executive Director to the Board of Atmo Biosciences, a digital health business commercializing a world-first ingestible gas-sensing capsule for gut health.
Dr. Roberts has more than 40 years’ experience in international medical device businesses, including tenure as CEO of Cochlear (ASX:COH) from 2004-2015, and as a founding Director and Executive Vice President of ResMed (ASX:RMD) from 1992-2003. During his time at the helm of Cochlear, revenue grew from AUD$285 million to $820 million and the share price quadrupled.
Atmo Biosciences CEO Mal Hebblewhite said Atmo, a business incubated by healthtech commercialization company Planet Innovation, was very fortunate to have Dr. Roberts on the Board.
“Chris brings a wealth of experience and a stellar track record of success in the medtech sector, having played a crucial role in the global growth of two of Australia’s most successful companies,” Mr Hebblewhite said. “His insight will be invaluable to Atmo as we move from product development into commercialization.”
Since retiring from Cochlear, Dr. Roberts has taken on the role of Chairman of OncoSil Medical (ASX:OSL), a medical device company focused on the pancreatic cancer market, and he is a Non-Executive Director of Clarity Pharmaceuticals and O’Connell Street Associates. He is also a PLuS Alliance Professor appointed across three universities: UNSW, King’s College London and Arizona State University.
Dr. Roberts said he was keen to join the Atmo Board because he thought Atmo had the potential to transform the diagnosis, treatment, and management of gastrointestinal disorders and wellness with tools that allow the function of the microbiome to be better understood.
“Until now, the physiology of the gut has been somewhat of a mystery. I’m looking forward to working with Atmo to contribute to the understanding and management of intestinal physiology,” Dr. Roberts said.
“It’s also a great opportunity to share what I’ve learnt during my years in the biomedical industry with a new company with novel solutions addressing a market with huge growth potential.”
Dr. Roberts’ appointment to the Board comes after Atmo closed a successful seed financing round to fund further development of the capsule and the commercialization of an initial application in motility and transit time.
Atmo has a clinical trial underway at Monash University and Alfred Health, led by Professor Peter Gibson, to investigate motility and transit time. The Atmo Gas Capsule is also being used in another Monash trial to investigate new treatments for patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).