Dr. Mark Tapsak PhD
Assistant Professor, BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
Member of the Healthcare Council
Council Member Biography
Mark Tapsak, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining Bloomsburg University, he was a Senior Scientist at DexCom based in San Diego, CA. Dr. Tapsak has also worked for Medtronic in Minneapolis, MN. His academic experience centers on polymer synthesis, polymer characterization and analytical chemistry. Dr. Tapsak's industry experience utilized his polymer chemistry training in medical product innovation, project management, technology transfer, and intellectual property strategies. He holds 18 US patents on medical devices and materials. Dr. Tapsak is also listed on more than 30 patent applications still under review in this field. (This is me - Update Profile)
Employment History
- 2004 - Unspecified
- Assistant Professor, BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- 2000 - 2004
- Senior Scientist, DEXCOM, INC.
- 1996 - 2000
- Senior Polymer Chemist, MEDTRONIC, INC.
GLG NewsSM Analyses by Mark Tapsak(?)
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Industry leaders need to work with the US Patent and Trademark office to keep US patents strong
April 24, 2008
Federal Court Sides With GlaxoSmithKline, Strikes Down Rules Issued by Patent Office | biz.yahoo.com
The USPTO is facing an epidemic amount of frivolous patents. This degrades their ability to review strong and potentially important patents in a timely manner. Although this particular change was struck down in Federal court, industry leaders need to work with the USPTO in order to strengthen the US patent system.
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CooperVision enters US market with Avaira™ two-week silicone hydrogel contact lenses
April 16, 2008
CooperVision Introduces Avaira™ Two-Week Silicone Hydrogel Contact Lenses | www.coopervision.com
I’m not so sure that this is a leap forward for CooperVision. After long delays for the release of the Biofinity lens, a two-week version has just been released. The material properties are reportedly “nice”, but certainly scaled back from what was reportedly achieved with Comfilcon A.
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DexCom Makes Progress Towards Easier Glucose Monitoring
November 19, 2007
Dexcom says gets FDA OK to calibrate glucose monitoring system | www.reuters.com
It's not easy being small, especially in the world of medical devices. Big players leverage branding, large sales forces and deep R&D organizations when they bring technologies to market. Unfortunately, most products are incremental improvements at best. Rarely does the conservative healthcare market benefit from a “leapfrog event”. DexCom announced today that the FDA approved a new calibration process for its seven day glucose sensor. While this announcement may appear trivial, it demonstrates steady progress for an important medical device by a relatively small company.
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All plastics are not created equal, choose wisely young biomedical engineer
October 22, 2007
Materials: Adding Sustainability to Product Development | www.devicelink.com
Material choices for the designer of medical devices are traditionally limited to those that already enjoy a proven track record. The use of truly new materials in a medical device is not only risky for the device manufacturer, but also for the material manufacturer. In particular, tissue contacting devices pose substantial litigation risks for material suppliers.
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Delayed availability for Comfilcon A silicone hydrogel lenses from CooperVision
October 19, 2007
Comfilcon A: A New Silicone Hydrogel Material | www.clspectrum.com
Silicone hydrogel materials will continue to push the boundaries of high oxygen transmissibility (Dk/t) and low modulus contact lenses. From a research and development standpoint, the fundamental starting materials have been under development for decades. CooperVision’s competitors in this arena have invested significantly more R&D resources to these projects for a number of years. Although the article by Dr. Lyndon Jones compares the material performance of Biofinity lenses to competing products, these desirable properties may never be achieved without a stronger R&D effort by CooperVision.
GLG Study Groups with Mark Tapsak(?)
| Study Group Name | No. Members |
|---|---|
| Users of Mass Spectrometers in the U.S. | 92 |
GLG Live Meetings with Mark Tapsak(?)
Mark Tapsak has not participated in any GLG Live Meetings.