The leading edge
Interview with James F. Benenati, MD, FSIR
As a patient-focused, technology-driven specialty, interventional radiology has always valued the role that innovation and business acumen play in improving patient care.
In this series, IRQ speaks with IRs who hold corporate leadership positions to learn more about their career paths and why they felt pulled from the IR suite to the C-suite.
IRQ: Tell us about your current position. James F. Benenati, MD, FSIR: I am the chief medical officer for Penumbra, Inc. Penumbra focuses on medical devices related to clot removal, aspiration thrombectomy and coil embolization, as well as virtual reality and immersive technologies for healthcare. I joined Penumbra full time in 2020 after 32 years in practice at the Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute at Baptist Hospital.
IRQ: What drew you to industry? JB: It came out of a quest for innovation. I loved clinical practice. My practice was always innovative, developing devices and taking part in clinical trials. That’s how I became involved with Penumbra—I felt we didn’t have a good solution for removing blood clots from the peripheral part of the body and wondered why we couldn’t use stroke devices in the periphery. I had been experimenting with the vacuum pumps, and a patient came in with a blood clot in his leg that we just could not remove. He was getting worse and had lost all function in his leg, so I decided to try something new. I ended up using a catheter we used for stroke and was able to remove the clot. This success made me confident in the idea, and I
12 IRQ | SPRING 2022
JB: IR has always been an innovative field. If you look at the devices that cardiologists and surgeons use, so much of that was born from IR technology. There has always been widespread recognition for that innovation, and companies have recognized the value of combining clinical expertise with innovation. This enhances product development efforts.
Name: James F. Benenati, MD, FSIR
Position: Chief Medical Officer for Penumbra, Inc.
began thinking of a way to better design the catheter.
I met with Penumbra and explained the peripheral market and why a device like this would be useful, and they agreed to move forward with designing devices for the peripheral circulation. I worked with their engineers and strategy team to launch the product, which did quite well. As a result of that partnership, I became a consultant and worked with the company for several years until they offered me a position as the chief medical officer.
IRQ: There seem to be more and more IRs serving in industry leadership positions. Why do you think this is a growing trend?
If you’re considering moving to industry, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of finding mentors, role models and other physicians who have made the jump. Learn from them, listen to their advice and identify your priorities.
The marketplace is getting very competitive, and companies are realizing they don’t fully understand the clinical needs of some of the spaces they’re competing in. So, there is a growing understanding of the enormous benefit of having clinical knowledge on staff. Physicians can aid in so many areas: clinical affairs, trial writing and design, and data accumulation. Clinical knowledge is also crucial to marketing, educational events, strategic development, and research and development. Clinicians are valuable in
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