Manfred Franke, PhD | CEO

Dr. Franke is co-founder, CEO and chairman at Neuronoff, Inc.

Prior to starting Neuronoff, he had spent 12 years in neuromodulation research and industry. His work included the development of electronics and interface technology, waveforms and novel therapies to reliably stimulate or block nervous system activity. With a focus on converting biological effects and reflexes into medical treatments, most of his 60+ granted patents are in the neuromodulation space, ranging from technologies to applications in chronic pain, cardiac and bladder management, dry eye disease and more.

He was the principal scientist at Oculeve, a startup focused on Dry Eye Disease and rooted in the Stanford Biodesign program. Oculeve utilized Manfred’s waveforms to reliably stimulate nerves around the eye and in the nose to increase the release of natural, healthy tears. His waveform development ensured that the initial struggles with accommodation were overcome, permitting a 6 month FDA pivotal trial design to prove the reliability of the effect to regulatory bodies. Oculeve sold at a 10+x multiple to Allergan. Following the acquisition, Manfred was the scientific lead for clinical trials documenting the reflexive release of high quality tears, substantiating the claim of a “full, true tear” for marketing purposes. He co-led safety work conducted prior and during the FDA pivotal trials that became part of the De Novo submission data set, resulting in what became known as Allergan’s “True Tear” treatment.

Prior to his startup work and in parallel to his doctoral work at Case Western Reserve University, Manfred interned at Boston Scientific where he was tasked to develop ways to achieve reduction in heart rate and blood pressure with vagal neurostimulation, all while avoiding side effects such as vocal cord activation. His internship resulted in more than 40 patent applications, many of which are international patents today.

Manfred received his PhD from Case Western which included extensive preclinical surgical training in collaboration with the Case School of Medicine & Metro Health Hospital resulting in about 3 years of preclinical OR time for acute and chronic implants in PNS and CNS neuromodulation. He holds a MS in Electrical Engineering from Dresden University of Technology, conducted in collaboration with the IMTEK at the University of Freiburg.

He is a recipient of the Fulbright Fellowship, the Naumann Fellowship, the Doctoral Excellence Award from the Case School of Medicine, and has served as DAAD Research Ambassador for Germany. Last but not least, he is a veteran of the German Armed Forces.