The MedTech veteran who scaled 1RF ablation for Barrett’s Esophagus into a $40 million business takes the helm as Aqua treats its first patient in the U.S. pilot study of PIMA for type 2 diabetes.

PLEASANTON, Calif., Aug. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Aqua Medical, Inc., a clinical-stage medical device company developing minimally invasive endoscopic therapies for type 2 diabetes and Barrett’s Esophagus, today announced the appointment of Robert “Bob” Haggerty as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective July 31, 2026. Haggerty succeeds Lloyd Mencinger, who steps down after nine years at the helm and will support the transition through September before beginning his retirement. The Board and the entire Aqua Medical team thank Lloyd for his leadership in guiding the company through the clinical and regulatory milestones that laid the foundation for its U.S. trials.

The appointment arrives at a pivotal moment. Aqua Medical recently treated the first patient in its U.S. Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) pilot study evaluating the Proximal Intestinal Mucosal Ablation (PIMA) procedure in adults with inadequately controlled type 2 diabetes.

The first procedure was performed at UNC Health in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, by Dr. Nicholas Shaheen, the study’s national principal investigator, alongside national co-principal investigator Dr. John Buse, past President for Medicine and Science of the American Diabetes Association (ADA). Shaheen described the first U.S. case as an important milestone in evaluating a very promising minimally invasive endoscopic approach designed to address type 2 diabetes. The study builds on clinical evidence from 66 patients treated outside the U.S., with highly promising 12-month follow-up results reported at Digestive Disease Week in Chicago, IL in May 2026.

Haggerty brings more than 35 years of medical device leadership, including more than 30 years in gastroenterology, spanning senior sales, marketing and business development roles at Boston Scientific, Covidien (now Medtronic), BÂRRX Medical, Gyrus/ACMI, Pentax Medical and Procter & Gamble. As Vice President of U.S. and Global Sales at BÂRRX Medical, he grew revenue to $40 million while leading the commercialization of radiofrequency ablation for Barrett’s Esophagus, culminating in BÂRRX’s 2012 acquisition by Covidien.

“I have had the opportunity to work with Bob for more than 30 years in various capacities, including multiple introductions of new technology that have had a profound impact on how medicine is practiced,” said Greg Barrett, Chairman of the Board of Aqua Medical. “Bob led the commercialization of radiofrequency ablation for Barrett’s Esophagus, a technology that transformed the standard of care, and his relationships within the gastroenterology community are unsurpassed. As Aqua enters this critical US clinical phase, there is no one better positioned to lead our clinical and commercial strategy.”

“I’ve spent my career bringing paradigm-shifting GI technologies to market, and I’ve rarely seen an opportunity as significant and impactful as this one,” said Bob Haggerty, now Chief Executive Officer of Aqua Medical. “I saw firsthand what radiofrequency ablation did for patients with Barrett’s Esophagus. Aqua’s platform now brings that same energy-based approach to type 2 diabetes, one of the largest unmet needs in medicine today. I’m excited to work alongside the Aqua team, board and clinical investigators to advance this technology through pivotal trials and toward patients who need it.”

“We backed Aqua Medical because this technology has the potential to finally reach millions of type-2 diabetes patients whom existing treatments have underserved for too long. Bob has brought multiple transformative GI technologies to market before, and he is the right leader to do it again,” said Dean Newton, Chairman at Relevance Ventures.

A Large, Underserved Market

Type 2 diabetes affects an estimated 35 million people in the U.S. and roughly 500 million worldwide, driving U.S. healthcare costs in the hundreds of billions of dollars each year, according to a July 2026 Oppenheimer equity research report on duodenal mucosal resurfacing (DMR). The report identifies Aqua Medical as one of only two companies globally pursuing DMR as a direct treatment for type 2 diabetes and pegs the U.S. market opportunity at $4.5 billion to $6 billion. It also points to Boston Scientific’s $40 million strategic investment in the category as evidence of mounting strategic interest in what could emerge as an entirely new specialty: interventional metabolic therapy. Aqua Medical is well positioned to lead in this market, particularly in the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) site of service, where its proprietary through-the-scope, fluoroscopy-free procedure, paired with encouraging early clinical data, could put advanced metabolic therapy within reach of millions of people living with type 2 diabetes.

About Aqua Medical, Inc.

Aqua Medical, Inc. is a clinical-stage medical device company developing minimally invasive endoscopic technologies to treat Barrett’s Esophagus and type 2 diabetes. The company’s radiofrequency vapor ablation (RFVA) platform is designed to be delivered through a standard endoscope, without fluoroscopy, in an outpatient setting. Aqua Medical is headquartered in Pleasanton, California. For more information, visit [www.aquaendoscopy.com].

About Relevance Ventures

Relevance Ventures is a Nashville-based and one of the only independently owned Native American venture capital firms in the U.S. The firm invests in health and wellness, fintech, and scalable technology companies. For more information, visit www.relevanceventures.com.

Forward-Looking Statements: This release contains forward-looking statements regarding Aqua Medical’s clinical development plans, regulatory strategy and market opportunity. These statements are based on current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties, including the outcome of ongoing clinical trials and FDA review, and actual results may differ materially.

Aqua Medical’s device for treating type 2 diabetes is currently under clinical investigation and is not approved by the FDA or commercially available outside of FDA-approved clinical trials. Aqua Medical’s RFVA system holds FDA 510(k) clearance for coagulation and ablation of bleeding and non-bleeding sites in the gastrointestinal tract, including the esophagus; it is not cleared or authorized for the treatment of diabetes.

Media Contact:

Deborah Ball
MarketCraft
deborah@marketcraft.ai

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SOURCE Aqua Medical Inc.