/EINPresswire.com/ -- BERLIN, GERMANY--(Marketwired - Aug 28, 2017) - EBS Technologies, developer and provider of the Eyetronic system for the treatment of visual field loss, announces the appointment of Karl Schweitzer to the position of Chief Executive Officer. In this role, Karl Schweitzer, who also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of EBS Technologies, will lead the company's efforts to accelerate commercial growth and drive international expansion.

Karl Schweitzer has over 25 years of experience in the medical device industry, including 10 years in various senior executive positions at Medtronic which he joined in 2004. From 2009, he oversaw global operations of the Neuromodulation division outside the US as Vice President and International General Manager. Prior to Medtronic, he was Vice President for the Central and Eastern European region with Boston Scientific. Mr. Schweitzer has joined EBS from Autonomic Technologies, a silicon valley start-up where he served as President International and was instrumental in raising Round D financing. He received his MBA from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, a JD degree from the University of Vienna, and a MSc in Business Informatics from the Vienna University of Economics and Business.

"We are very pleased to have Karl join EBS Technologies as CEO. His wealth of experience in both the start-up and corporate world, as well as his deep knowledge of the neurological stimulation market, having introduced and established several new therapies in the field of medical technology, make him the ideal choice," says Thom Rasche, Managing Partner at Earlybird Venture Capital and member of the board of EBS Technologies.

"I am very excited to take the leadership role at EBS Technologies at a time when we have raised new investment funds to accelerate the growth for our unique therapy, Eyetronic. We will focus on strengthening our team, broadening our clinical activities, expanding commercial presence selectively in Europe, and also entering the US market, with the aim of treating millions of patients worldwide suffering from glaucoma," states Karl Schweitzer.

Earlier this month, EBS Technologies announced that the company has raised 3 million Euros with Norgine Ventures. The new funds will be dedicated to international expansion and the set-up of a US clinical trial. The company's proprietary Eyetronic system enables a completely new therapeutic approach to patients suffering from glaucoma and other conditions affecting the optic nerve. The non-invasive treatment is the first and only method that has been shown to not only slow down disease progression, but to also restore vision in glaucoma, the leading cause for irreversible blindness in the world, affecting 70 million people globally.^1,2

About EBS Technologies

EBS Technologies, based in Berlin, Germany, develops software and hardware for medical stimulation therapies. The company holds several patents in the EU, Japan and the USA and received CE mark based on the successful completion of a multicenter randomized controlled clinical trial. The system is approved for the treatment of visual field loss caused by neuropathies of the optic nerve.

More information on Eyetronic (formerly: EBS therapy) is available under www.eyetronic.com.

¹ Gall C, Schmidt S, Schittkowski MP, Antal A, Ambrus GG, Paulus W, et al. (2016) Alternating Current Stimulation for Vision Restoration after Optic Nerve Damage: A Randomized Clinical Trial. PLoS ONE 11(6): e0156134.
² Quigley & Broman, The number of people with glaucoma worldwide in 2010 and 2020, Br J Ophthalmol 90: 262-267, 2006