Massoudi and Hughes will support Newport Beach, California–based Vivera in its product and software development initiatives while forging strategic partnerships for Zicoh, the company’s electronic dose-controlled medication delivery system designed to improve prescription drug adherence, including medications with a higher propensity for misuse and abuse.
The company received a third U.S. patent for Zicoh last month.
Massoudi has experience founding startups and serving as an executive, as well as in operational management roles for global and Fortune 500 technology enterprises. Among the companies he’s worked with are Dell, Cisco, SpaceTime Insight and more.
He has amassed more than 30 years of experience in software and systems product development, strategic partnerships and technology-led business transformation and innovation. Massoudi will serve as senior technology advisor and will guide Zicoh’s product development initiatives and assist in its strategic partnership development strategy.
“It’s a great honor to co-create with the conscious and visionary leadership at Vivera,” Massoudi said in a news release. “Together, we will help bring innovative technology solutions to the market that will prevent opioid addiction and save lives at a mass scale.”
Hughes, a senior software engineer, entrepreneur, advisor and executive has over 35 years of experience spanning a similar range of startups to Fortune 500 companies. He will also serve as a senior technology advisor with a significant role in Zicoh’s software development strategy.
“I’m incredibly excited to be a part of this amazing team and to have the opportunity to transform everyday patient lives by enabling them to access necessarily controlled prescription medications safely while guarding against addiction,” Hughes said. “Pain is real, and there is evidence that the pendulum has swung from the overprescription of opioid-based medications, leading to an increased prevalence of addiction, to the underprescription of such medications for fear of addiction to the point where patients may be suffering needlessly. Zicoh is the answer to ensuring people have a quality of life while adhering to their prescribed medication regimen.”
Hughes co-founded Predictive Medical Technology in 2009 to predict cardiopulmonary arrest in the ICU, then later founded GoFactory. He also held a leadership position at Nokia before starting his third company, Lodestar.
“I welcome Mr. Massoudi and Mr. Hughes to our technology advisory board,” Vivera Chair and CEO Paul Edalat said. “The Company is working on transformative technologies that will not only change lives but alter the trajectory of the opioid crisis, a significant health problem affecting millions of people. Mr. Massoudi and Mr. Hughes have successfully built, grown, and led tech companies, and I am looking forward to utilizing their expertise to take Vivera to new heights.”
