Mainstay Medical appoints new chief financial officer

Irish-headquartered medical device company Mainstay Medical has appointed Matthew Onaitis as chief financial officer, assuming the role from Hugh Kavanagh.

Mr Onaitis, who assumed his role on August 20th, has worked in healthcare for 20 years, ranging from global multinationals including Biogen Idec and Elan Pharmaceuticals, to innovative specialty pharmaceutical companies such as Ignyta, Trius Therapeutics and Somaxon Pharmaceuticals. Most recently he was chief financial officer at Cidara Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing novel anti-infectives including immunotherapies.

He said: “I am very excited by Mainstay’s ReActiv8 technology and its potential to address an underlying cause of chronic low back pain. I have been impressed by the company’s progress and look forward to joining the team as we prepare for the completion of the US clinical study, expansion of the commercial business in Germany and additional markets, and the eventual launch in the US.”

During his tenure at Cidara, the company raised more than $185 million (€162 million) and successfully progressed its lead programme into late-stage clinical trials. Cidara is one of four publicly-traded healthcare companies at which Mr Onaitis has been a senior executive.

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Jason Hannon, chief executive of Mainstay, said Mr Onaitis's "breadth of experience, as well as his deep knowledge in financing innovative growth companies like ours, are the very skills Mainstay needs at this stage of its growth".