Welcome to CleveX

CleveX, Inc. is a medical device company, founded in 2003 in collaboration with Cleveland Clinic, which specializes in the development of innovative skin biopsy, closure and repair solutions for use in primary care, family, OB/GYN and dermatology physician practices. The company developed and recently introduced its first commercialized product, ExiClip™, an innovative and easy to use skin biopsy medical device, to address unmet market needs.

Our flagship product, ExiClip™, is a disposable single-step skin lesion removal and closure device. ExiClip is sutureless and bloodless reducing a twenty to thirty minute procedure to less than five.  It saves procedure time and improves physician workflow and workload.  The closure optimizes cosmetic patient outcomes – virtual elimination of scar tissue.

Mission Statement

CleveX™, Inc. is committed to providing value-added innovations in skin biopsy. Our novel technologies in skin biopsy wound closure and repair - significantly improve patient outcomes and enhance practice economics - enabling physicians and health care providers to accelerate the diagnosis and treatment of skin diseases and cancers.

Vision of Founders

CleveX™ founders set out to establish better ways to manage skin excisions and biopsies. The founders wanted patients to experience less trauma and significantly better healing than was delivered with a surgical suture approach. They determined to enhance the clinical aspects, saving significant procedural time while delivering attractive margins for the professional practice. CleveX™ found these physicians to be hungry for technology innovations, new products and new procedures.

History

CleveX™, Inc., was founded in 2003 to commercialize novel technologies conceived by Plastic Surgeons and Dermatologists at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation (CCF). CCF Innovations, the commercialization arm of CCF, partnered with IDx Medical, a surgical instrument "accelerator" in Cincinnati, OH, to complete the design and development of the ExiClip™ - the Company's flagship product. CleveX™, Inc., was established in late 2006 when the Company raised Series A funding to accelerate commercial entry. Today, CleveX™ has 510(k) clearance to market and sell the ExiClip™ and its accessories. The company's corporate headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio.

Importance of Biopsies

There are two kinds of biopsies that are performed to diagnose melanoma: excisional biopsy and sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy. An excisional biopsy is done to find out whether a mole is actually melanoma. An SLN biopsy is done after melanoma is diagnosed, to find out whether the cancer has spread beyond the skin.

Excisional Biopsy

If your doctor suspects that a mole or growth on your skin is melanoma, he or she will need to do an excisional biopsy. This is the only way to make a definite diagnosis of melanoma.

The doctor tries to remove all of the suspicious-looking growth. If the growth is too large to be removed easily, the doctor removes a part of it. This can usually be done in the doctor's office, using a local anesthetic. A pathologist then examines what was removed under a microscope to check for cancer cells.

Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy

A sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is the best way to find out if the melanoma has spread inside your body, and how far.

If the mole or growth turns out to be melanoma, your doctor will need to learn the extent, or stage, of the disease. The stage of the disease depends on how thick the tumor is, whether it is cracked or bleeding (ulcerated), and how far it has spread.

The best way to find out how far melanoma may have spread is through a sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy.

The lymph nodes are glands that are part of the body's immune system—the system that helps protect against disease. Your body has many lymph glands (or nodes), especially in the armpit, neck, and groin.