BUILT ON YEARS OF SERIOUS SCIENCE
About us
Spun out of the Auckland University Bioengineering Institute. Our technology has its roots in one of the world's leading bioengineering research environments, where the work of a large, dedicated team of scientists and engineers made what we're doing possible.
Kitea Health didn't begin with a single moment of inspiration. It began with years of rigorous, foundational research. Kitea Health was founded to bridge the gap between what the science showed and what patients actually have access to today to take decades of careful research and turn it into something that can make a real difference in people's lives.
Today, Kitea Health is a New Zealand-based medical device company with global ambition.
OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM
Simon Malpas
Director, Chief Executive Officer
Simon is a distinguished scientist and entrepreneur. Simon has previously co-founded three successful medical device/life science companies from research. He has also worked as Chief Scientist for a US based medical device manufacturer.
Simon has a PhD in Physiology and holds an additional position as Professor of Physiology and Bioengineering at the University of Auckland.
In 2018 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. He has obtained in excess of $23M in grant funding for his research and produced over 150 scientific articles.
His work has been internationally recognised by awards from the American Physiological Society and within NZ by the Royal Society.
Natalia Jones
Director, Chief Operations Officer
Natalia’s career started off in the heavily regulated automotive industry as a systems engineer. This complemented her shift into the life science and medical device industry 10 years ago where she designed and implemented quality management systems.
She has worked with multiple medical device spinouts to develop their quality systems and to ensure regulatory compliant product development.
She was previously the Chief Operating Officer for Kaha Sciences, a wireless telemetry solutions company. She now focuses on market entry strategy for the Kitea System. Natalia holds a Bachelor of Science Electrical Engineering from Louisiana Tech University and a Postgraduate Diploma in Quality Systems Design from Massey University.
Bryon Wright
PHD, Chief Technical Officer
Bryon is a bioengineer with over 20 years of experience working on academic and commercial development of microscale technologies.
Prior to moving to New Zealand he obtained his BSE in Biomedical Engineering from Arizona State University while also working in the semiconductor industry, then a PhD in Bioengineering from the University of Utah.
Bryon then moved to New Zealand to found and direct the Auckland Microfab, a multidisciplinary microfabrication facility at the University of Auckland. An interest in translational research lead to working on applications of microfabrication and nanotechnology in commercial products, including medical devices and sensors. Bryon is passionately devoted to delivering the Kitea System to improve health outcomes for patients worldwide.
OUR CLINICAL ADVISORY GROUP
Michael Muhonen
Clinical Advisor at Kitea Health
Dr. Michael Muhonen is a paediatric neurosurgeon who practices at Children’s Hospital of Orange County. He is an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California Irvine, College of Medicine, with ongoing research in hydrocephalus, cerebral palsy, cerebral spinal fluid access, intrathecal gene and anti-sense oligonucleotide intrathecal therapy, and cerebral blood flow.
Dr. Muhonen is board-certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgeons, and the American Board of Pediatric Neurological Surgery, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He currently oversees a hydrocephalus/cerebral spinal fluid research laboratory. He has led multiple clinical trials at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County. He serves on the Board of the Hydrocephalus Association and previously served on the Boards of the Hydrocephalus Foundation, and the Children’s Hospital of Orange County Foundation. He has been a medical/scientific advisor to Medtronic, Alcyone, Anuncia, Codman, Biogen and Integra Sciences.
David Bauer
Clinical Advisor at Kitea Health
Dr. David Bauer is a paediatric neurosurgeon who practices at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston Texas. He is an Associate Professor with Tenure at Baylor College of Medicine, with ongoing research in hydrocephalus, cerebral palsy, scoliosis, and craniosynostosis.
Dr. Bauer is board-certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgeons and the American Board of Paediatric Neurological Surgeons. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Paediatrics, American Association of Neurological Surgeons, and American College of Surgeons. He is active in practice guideline development, and he is chair of the AANS/CNS Pediatric Neurosurgery Guideline Committee, where he has led the production of guidelines in the treatment of hydrocephalus, plagiocephaly, spina bifida, Chiari malformation, and tethered spinal cord. He leads multiple clinical trials at Texas Children’s Hospital and serves on the Board of the Bobby Jones Chiari and Syringomyelia Foundation
Peter Heppner
Clinical Advisor at Kitea Health
Dr. Peter Heppner is a Consultant Neurosurgeon working at Auckland City Hospital, Starship Children's Hospital, and Ascot Hospital.
Peter completed Neurosurgical training in New Zealand and Australia before undertaking subspecialist Fellowships in Complex Spine Surgery and Paediatric Neurosurgery. He has been Head of Paediatric Neurosurgery in Auckland since 2015. Outside clinical practice, Peter has active research projects with the Auckland University Centre for Brain Research and the Auckland Bioengineering Institute. He has been an elected member of the Board of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia since 2015 and is the current Vice President.
OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Harry Rowland
Chair, Board of Directors
Co-founder, CEO, and President of Endotronix, where he led development of the Cordella System, raised $150M+, scaled a 150+ team, completed the PROACTIVE-HF trial, and secured FDA PMA approval, leading to acquisition by Edwards Lifesciences in 2024. Stayed on to support CMS coverage and CE Mark.
Holds a PhD in mechanical engineering (Georgia Tech), plus a BS in mechanical engineering and MA in economics (UC Santa Barbara). Author of multiple publications and patents.
Jeff Reid
Investor Director
Jeff is an experienced medical technology professional with a demonstrated history of developing and commercialising products across a broad range of therapeutic and diagnostic fields.
As an entrepreneurial professional with a Bachelor of Science majoring in Neuroscience from Macquarie University, Jeff has founded, invested in and successfully exited a number of medical technology businesses.
Jeff currently acts as a corporate adviser to, and sits on the board of, a number of Australian and NZ MedTech companies.
Natalia Lopez
Executive Director
Natalia is Chief Operations Officer for Kitea Health.
Natalia’s career started off in the heavily regulated automotive industry as a systems engineer. This complemented her shift into the life science and medical device industry 10 years ago where she designed and implemented quality management systems.
She has worked with multiple medical device spinouts to develop their quality systems and to ensure regulatory compliant product development.
She was previously the Chief Operating Officer for Kaha Sciences, a wireless telemetry solutions company. She now focuses on market entry strategy for the Kitea System. Natalia holds a Bachelor of Science Electrical Engineering from Louisiana Tech University and a Postgraduate Diploma in Quality Systems Design from Massey University.
Simon Malpas
Executive Director
Simon is a distinguished scientist and entrepreneur. Simon has previously co-founded three successful medical device/life science companies from research. He has also worked as Chief Scientist for a US based medical device manufacturer.
Simon has a PhD in Physiology and holds an additional position as Professor of Physiology and Bioengineering at the University of Auckland.
In 2018 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. He has obtained in excess of $23M in grant funding for his research and produced over 150 scientific articles.
His work has been internationally recognised by awards from the American Physiological Society and within NZ by the Royal Society.
P. (Laxmin) Laxminarain
Independent Director
P. (Laxmin) Laxminarain has a long and distinguished career at Johnson and Johnson in the Medtech area, having been Worldwide President of their Codman division for over 10 years. While at Codman, he played a leadership role in both acquisitions and divestitures, while continuing to lead innovation in key areas such as stroke treatment and hydrocephalus management. Over the years, he built a global network of clinical as well as industrial contacts. Post J&J, he continues to advise start ups as a Board Director in several Neuro start up companies.
Laxmin started his medtech career at J&J in India. He was in senior commercial roles with the company based in Singapore for 7 years, followed by a 3 year stint as Managing Director of J&J Medtech in South Korea. Later, he had a senior role at Cordis, a J&J division based in Miami,Florida.
Laxmin holds a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering as well as an MBA from India. He lives in Miami, Florida.
Hashan De Silva
Investor Director
Founder & Managing Partner at KP Rx, an ANZ biotech/medtech VC. Previously Head of Healthcare at Karst Peak Capital, Lead Healthcare Analyst at CLSA Australia, and Associate Analyst at Macquarie Bank. Earlier experience at Eli Lilly and served as a Lieutenant in the Australian Army Reserves (2006–2014).
Holds a Bachelor of Medicine, a Master of Finance (UNSW), and is a CFA Charterholder.
Joe Victor
Investor Director
Joe Victor currently serves as President & CEO of RareCyte, a precision biology company providing instruments, consumables, and services to academic medical centers and biopharma companies based in Seattle, WA, USA.
Venture Partner at 5AM Ventures since 2016; former CEO of Startide, DVS Sciences, and Applied Precision, and current board/advisory member with a background in tech, aviation, and energy.