CRISSY PASCUAL / Union-Tribune
Tony Grover is working to make sure a new treatment for stroke victims qualifies for Medicare compensation.
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Tony Grover
Company: PhotoThera
Age: 31
Career Highlights: PhotoThera, 2005-present; previous positions at Bay Area biotech companies Tularik and Ceretek
Education: Michigan State University, bachelor of science in biochemistry, 1999. Carnegie Mellon Graduate School of Industrial Management, master of business administration, 2003.
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Tony Grover is working to make sure a new treatment for stroke victims qualifies as “reasonable and necessary” under government standards.
Grover, who works at the Carlsbad company PhotoThera, says the current treatment for stroke works best if patients get treatment within three hours. But his company is developing a noninvasive laser treatment that, he says, would give patients a 24-hour window.
Meeting the “reasonable and necessary” criteria that Medicare requires for treatment compensation is critical, he said. Seventy percent of stroke patients receive Medicare benefits.
As PhotoThera's director of reimbursement and government affairs, the 31-year-old Grover travels to Baltimore and Washington, D.C., to meet with members of Congress and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal agency administering those benefits.
Working with doctor organizations and patient advocacy groups, he educates audiences on the technology's significance and timeline for FDA approval. PhotoThera will probably apply for pre-market approval during the first quarter of 2009, Grover says.
His job includes writing, producing and editing video and animation projects illustrating the technology, he said. He also manages public relations, working with television affiliates across the country.
In 2005, Grover met PhotoThera foundeder Jackson Streeter and began working as director of special projects, fundraising and performing basic market analysis. Six months later, he became director of marketing and product development, working with engineers to design new concepts.
He assumed his current role in January. Grover says his job holds special meaning for personal reasons. In 1999, his grandfather suffered a stroke. Although his grandfather survived, Grover recalls his frustration upon hearing the limited treatment options available.
“At one point, I spoke with a neurologist, who said that nothing could be done except rehabilitation,” Grover said. “I remember the sheer frustration. It's 1999. We've put men in space. How can you tell me there's nothing to be done? There's actually a light at the end of the tunnel, where this could literally change the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.”
