About Len

Dr. Leonard Pinchuk has been diagnosed as a serial entrepreneur and serial inventor. He has founded or incubated 10 companies and has 112 issued U.S. patents. 

​Based in Miami, Florida, Dr. Pinchuk founded Innovia LLC in 2002, which has since incubated and spun off eight new companies. He currently spends most of his time working in the field of glaucoma and nurturing a new company in the genetic engineering space.

He is a member of AIMBE, a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the recipient of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce Health Care Heroes Award. Dr. Pinchuk also enjoys an appointment as Distinguished Research Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Miami.

View all patents | ​View all publications

Background and Accomplishments
Dr. Pinchuk began his career in 1983 at Cordis Corporation and left in 1987 to co-found Corvita Corporation where the team developed the angioplasty balloon and pioneered the field of vascular and stent-grafts. After completing a successful IPO on the NASDAQ in 1994, Corvita was purchased by Pfizer, Inc. (1996) and then sold to Boston Scientific (1998).  

​His major accomplishments include the invention or co-invention of the modern-day angioplasty balloon, the helical stent used on most stent-grafts, the modular stent-graft used to repair abdominal aortic aneurysms, polycarbonate urethanes for use in medicine, SIBS for implant applications, Boston Scientific Corporation’s TAXUS drug-eluting coronary stent, the InnFocus MicroShunt® for the treatment of glaucoma, the Surefire Catheter for treating liver tumors, the Mayser urinary drainage catheter and the next generation intraocular lens material.  

View complete list of patents.

Honors and Awards
  • 2015: Keynote commencement speaker, Florida international University School of Engineering
  • 2015: Invited speaker in National Academy of Engineering (NAE) envoy to China
    • China-U.S. Forum on Grand Challenges for Biomaterials in the 21st Century (Sichuan University, Chengdu, China)
    • China-U.S. Joint Forum on Innovation and Regulation of Biomaterials (South China Institute of Technology, Guangzhou, China)
  • 2015: Speaker, Society for Biomaterials, Charlotte, North Carolina
  • 2014: Speaker, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Roundtable on Biomedical Engineering Materials and Applications (BEMA)
  • 2013: Speaker, American Chemical Society, Polymers and Biology in Medicine, Sonoma, California
  • 2012: Inductee, National Academy of Engineering (NAE)
  • 2012: Llewellyn-Thompson Lecturer, University of Toronto
  • 2012: Distinguished Research Professor of Biomedical Engineering, University of Miami
  • 2008: Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce Healthcare Heroes Award
  • 2008: Distinguished Service Award, McGill University
  • 2007: Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biomedical Engineers (AIMBE)
  • 2006: Fellow of the World Technology Network
  • 2005: Honorary Doctor of Science Degree, McGill University
  • 2004: Iron Arrow, University of Miami
  • 2000: University of Miami Grand Founder's Society
  • 1996: Distinguished Alumni Award, University of Miami Department of Engineering
  • 1989: Adjunct Professor of Biomedical Engineering, University of Miami
  • 1985: Florida Manufacturers Award for outstanding performance and productivity
  • 1984: President's Award for outstanding contributions to Cordis Corporation

Education
Dr. Pinchuk received a B.Sc. in chemistry from McGill University in 1976, a Ph.D. interdisciplinary in Engineering and Chemistry from the University of Miami in 1984.