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A Man for All Reasons
Holly Stratts

To accomplish great things one must not only act, but dream.

-Anonymous

Hard work and initiative coupled with a diversity of interests and goals are hallmarks of every successful career. Jerome Canady, M.D. >76 A&S has no shortage of these attributes. But what makes this man out of the ordinary is his unflappable pursuit of challenges whether sought after or not. This is his uncommon story.

The Student Athlete

He began his studies at Villanova in 1972 fresh from St. Thomas More High School in Philadelphia in the Academic Advancement Program through the Multicultural Affairs Office. From the start, Canady set his sights on a career in foreign service with the National Security Agency. He decided that majoring in German and minoring in Russian would aid him in this pursuit. To enhance his fluency in German, Canady spent a semester in a town in northern Germany living with a family who spoke only their native language.

Along the way, his interest in science began to emerge and he shifted his studies to pre-med, all the while competing on the cross country team and aiming for a place on the track team as a walk-on. He eventually earned a spot on the traveling team. For me it was a big honor because I wasn't a scholarship jock. spot on the team wasn't just given to you. Mr. [Jumbo] Elliott would say, >You can come out here and run but you have to be up there with the boys.= I can still remember running the back roads around the school. I also remember running with Eamonn Coghlan and John Hartnett and the guys when they first returned from the Olympics. The tradition was to go out for a 10-mile run and leave you after five miles to find your way back home. I don=t think I did bad for a city boy from Philadelphia.

By the time his senior year rolled around, Canady was named to Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities.

The Med Student

After graduation in 1976, Canady began his medical studies at the Temple Hospital School of Medicine in Philadelphia. Completing that course of study, he next went on to Howard University and then Georgetown University concentrating on internal medicine.

He began his residency at the University of Illinois, Cook County Hospital and completed it at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center at McKeesport. From there I went into private practice in general surgery and became a member of the staff at Georgetown University Hospital. During that time I became a diplomat at the American Board of Surgery, the same thing as being board certified. At that point I decided to move along and obtain a specialty to do organ transplantation, mainly kidney, pancreas and liver. From 1999 until late February he was a postdoctoral clinical fellow in organ transplantation and immunology at the Yale University School of Medicine.

The Inventor

During his surgical residency, Canady invented a device that stops bleeding within tissue during surgery. It is called the Argon Beam Coagulator. More precisely it is defined as a device that controls or prevents blood flow in tissue for various types of surgical procedures using an endoscope. It uses ionizable gas (in this case argon) and radiofrequency current to cause blood coagulation in tissue. At demonstrates technological innovation that hasn't been seen in medicine in the last 50 years, he said. Canady applied for the U.S. patent in July 1991 and was granted that patent in May 1993. The more difficult to obtain European patent was granted in 1999. With the patents secure Canady envisioned beginning to manufacture and distribute his new line of catheters through his soon to be formed company, Canady Technology Industries. Happy ending? Not quite...the odyssey was just about to begin.

By definition, a patent is a document issued by a national government granting an inventor exclusive rights to an invention for a limited time. A patent allows an inventor to prevent others from making, selling or using the invention in every country in which it is patented. Canady added, AA patent is only for protection that that is your invention. If someone wants to produce this innovation after it becomes public knowledge then it is up to you to protect it through the court system. People think that when you have a patent you are home free and the government will protect you but that's not the case.

David vs. Goliath

Canady explained, In 1996 or 1997 a German company knew about my U.S. patent. A German professor was thinking of the same idea. The multi-million dollar company for which this professor worked filed a patent for an almost identical device six months after I filed for the European patent. We tried to work things out but they decided three years ago to come to the States to sell the device without my permission. In early >97, we filed a lawsuit against the company for patent infringement.

The case began, he continued, with discovery interrogatory and submission of materials for evidence. The company I was dealing with is the largest electro surgery company in Europe with about $200-300 million in annual sales. It was up to me and my attorney, with meager resources, to defend and protect the rights to my device for future manufacture and distribution both in the United States and Europe. The odds of an individual beating a very wealthy company was daunting and some felt totally unrealistic.

After a year and a half in the court system, a summary judgment was their conclusion. It was felt that I didn't have enough evidence to support my claim. The judge declared there was no infringement.

According to court documents, The company moved for summary judgment declaring that Canady=s patent was invalid and, in any event, their devices do not infringe upon it. Canady appealed from the grant of summary judgment of noninfringement to the defendant. The memo continued, A Mr. Canady contends that the company wrongfully withheld non-privileged documents which were clearly responsive to several interrogatories and requests for production.

The Sleuth

This circumstance set the scene for an arduous six-month, $200,000 odyssey during which time Canady, with monetary and spiritual support from family and friends, traveled back and forth to Europe to track down the documents he felt the company purposefully withheld from the court proceedings. These documents also included interviews with experts in the field of medical technology.

AI took the information back to my attorney and he said, >I think you have something here. There is a slim chance the court might reverse the decision. We filed a reconsideration and after a year the judge reversed his decision about the summary judgment. He found fraud and misconduct on the part of the company, hit them with sanctions and ordered them to pay a large sum of money in legal fees. This whole situation has been unbelievable,@ he said with a mock laugh.

He has since found a manufacturer and is in negotiations with a company to distribute his line of catheters. AI decided not to license it in the United States as I did in Europe. I am going to be in charge of my company, Canady Technology Industries and I will manufacture and distribute the line in this country.

The Multi-Visceral Transplantation Surgeon

Beginning in March, he became a visiting transplant fellow in visceral and organ transplantation at the Humboldt-Universität Berlin. He is the first non-German to visit as a fellow and participate in the transplant team at the institution. A total of 29 Nobel Prize winners did some of their scientific work at the university in Berlin, including Albert Einstein, Emil Fischer, Max Planck and Fritz Haber. Canady will spend five to six months there before joining the University of Pittsburgh=s Thomas E. Starzl Transplant Institute, named for the surgeon who performed the first successful human liver transplant in 1963. Excited at the prospect of his future endeavors Canady noted, The Institute is engaged in multi-visceral transplantation where people will receive multiple transplants during the same surgery. It is very cutting edge.@

Transplantation Surgeon or Corporate Executive

Did he ever envision himself leaving surgery and moving to the corporate sector permanently? If you had asked me that five years ago while I was going through the legal battle it would have been very difficult to answer. It was hard defending something I created which someone else was trying to invalidate. You have to gather all your strength, stamina and fortitude from your training, your institutions, your family, and for the way I was raised. My goal eventually is to be chairman of the department of surgery at a large, reputable medical institution in this country, along with my ambition to develop this product and this company into a multi-million dollar business. I would like to take both paths until I have to give one up. It=s not being greedy, it=s wanting to learn and be adventurous.

Reflections on Villanova

"Villanova was my first choice for college and I am glad I was able to complete my undergrad work here. It helped me build fortitude and stamina to undergo the challenges I have faced so far. I thank the people from Villanova as well as other institutions I've been involved with for promoting my career to where I am right now. His message to students today... Nothing is earned without hard work.@ Words spoken by a true warrior who clearly understands the battle.