IMSA Alum Debuts Breakthrough Device for Cancer Detection
For Immediate Release, August 2004
For comment, contact Brenda Buschbacher at
(630) 907-5033
EADevices, Inc., the brainchild of IMSA Class of 1999 graduate Joshua Gerlick, emerged as the newest biotechnology sensation to open the NASDAQ Stock Exchange on Friday, August 6 in an internationally televised ceremony.
The company’s featured product, the EANeedle, combines circular ultrasonic energy with thin, interchangeable, needles to provide a solution for difficult, early-stage biopsies. The needle is less invasive than current biopsy technologies and will result in fewer complications, providing patients with earlier opportunities for cancer detection and treatment.
“Opening the NASDAQ is a real testament to our advisors, partners, and employees who have dedicated themselves toward growing our company into a market leader for biopsy retrieval devices,” said Gerlick, chief executive officer EADevices.
EADevices Inc. began as the vision of Gerlick and two of his fellow graduate students at Carnegie Mellon University who adopted a promising technology from Indianola, PA-based Medrad Inc. In under a year, the company became one of the most talked-about and promising biotechnology startups in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.
The founding trio then entered eleven business plan competitions in an effort to prove their venture and raise start-up funding. In May 2004, EADevices defeated 29 teams of entrepreneurs from around the world to win the 2004 MOOT Corp. competition, widely hailed as the most prestigious of international business plan competitions.
EADevices also won additional money from eight other business plan competitions, raising over $350,000 in total competition winnings.
The EANeedle utilizes circular ultrasonic energy to gather biopsy samples from areas such as the soft tissues surrounding the breast and lung that are easily damaged by conventional biopsy procedures.
Energy dissipated at the tip of the needle acts much like a “hot knife through butter,” piercing through layers of tissue and the tumor. This allows surgeons and radiologists to focus on guiding and controlling the needle, rather than forcing it through the tissue.
Gerlick holds an MBA and a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration with University Honors from Carnegie Mellon University .
The management team of EADevices is composed of recent Carnegie Mellon University graduates, Joshua A. Gerlick, Yogesh Oka, and Mark O’Leary.
“I believe it was IMSA’s program and driving motivation to me as a student at IMSA that has led me to where I am today.”
Learn more about Gerlick’s company by visiting www.eadevices.com.
The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy® is an internationally-recognized pioneering educational institution created by the State of Illinois to develop talent and leadership in mathematics, science and technology. IMSA's advanced residential college preparatory program enrolls 650 academically talented Illinois students in grades 10-12. Nearly 18,000 teachers and 34,000 students in Illinois and beyond have benefited from The Center@IMSA program of professional development and student enrichment. Located in Aurora in the high-tech corridor west of Chicago, IMSA® serves the people of Illinois through innovative instructional programs, public and private partnerships, policy counsel, action research, and the leadership and achievements of its graduates.