Channel Medsystems Appoints Nelson Whistance as CEO to Lead Next Phase of Growth
BERKELEY, Calif., Aug. 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Channel Medsystems, the medical device company that successfully launched the innovative Cerene® technology for endometrial cryotherapy, announced today the appointment of Nelson Whistance as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately.
Whistance succeeds Ric Cote, who led Channel through the launch of the Cerene Cryotherapy Device and laid the foundation for its commercial success. The company now turns to Whistance to lead it through the next stage of growth and expansion.
“Cerene is a significant innovation in women’s health and will elevate the standard of care for women with heavy menstrual bleeding,” said Whistance. “It offers an outstanding safety and efficacy profile and can provide significant symptomatic relief while helping to preserve diagnostic and therapeutic access to the uterine cavity. These are important differentiators addressing an unmet gap in care inherent to the traditional heat-based ablations. I’m thrilled to join the exceptional team at Channel as we work to expand access to this ground-breaking therapy for women who suffer from this condition.”
“Nelson is a proven leader in women’s health and medical devices, with deep commercial expertise and a track record of driving category-defining growth,” said Mortimer (Tim) Berkowitz III, Managing Partner and co-founder of InnovaHealth Partners and Channel’s Board Chair. “He joins at a pivotal time as Cerene continues to gain traction as a highly effective alternative to traditional treatments for heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB).”
Whistance brings nearly two decades of healthcare experience, including leadership roles at Hologic, Prytime Medical Devices, and most recently leading the U.S. commercial effort at Gynesonics, resulting in the acquisition by Hologic. His experience across commercial strategy and execution, market development, and operational leadership uniquely positions him to guide Channel through its next chapter.
Each year, approximately 10 million women in the U.S. experience heavy menstrual bleeding, yet only 1.4 million receive active treatment. This gap highlights a significant market opportunity for Cerene. Cerene is well-positioned to meet the growing demand for less invasive alternatives to hysterectomy and heat-based endometrial ablation procedures.
About Cerene Cryotherapy
Cerene is an endometrial cryoablation treatment that safely and effectively reduces heavy menstrual bleeding while providing a natural pain-relieving effect during the treatment without requiring general anesthesia. The Cerene FDA pivotal clinical study (“CLARITY”), published in The Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology, concluded that 90% of all patients reported normal, light or no bleeding and were satisfied with the procedure at 12 months following treatment. Additionally, results published in The Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology in November 2021 demonstrated that the use of cryoablation to treat the endometrium preserved access to the uterine cavity, with visualization in 91% of evaluated patients, and the ability to evaluate for pathologic change in 96% of patients whose uterine cavities could be fully visualized. The Cerene Cryotherapy Device is indicated to ablate the endometrial lining of the uterus in premenopausal women with heavy menstrual bleeding due to benign causes for whom childbearing is complete.
About Channel Medsystems
Channel Medsystems® is a privately-held company dedicated to empowering every woman to take control of her health journey and live her best life. With a commitment to deliver innovative technologies that exceed the expectations of women and their gynecologists, Channel strives to develop easy-to-use, safe, and cost-effective medical devices, resulting in exceptional outcomes and superior patient comfort that are accessible to all women. Channel Medsystems, Inc. is headquartered in Berkeley, California.
For more information, visit cerene.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
Media Contact:
Matt Kemp
mkemp@cerene.com
949-230-6065
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e0466b36-0c81-4e42-b800-9d5aad1e187e.
