Maynard, MA, February 13, 2012. Allegro Diagnostics today announced that Duncan Whitney, Ph.D., has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Research and Development, effective immediately. Dr. Whitney has over 20 years of experience developing and commercializing technologies in life sciences companies, with an emphasis on diagnostics test development. He joined Allegro Diagnostics in January 2010.
“Duncan provides the senior leadership to our technical team with his extensive experience developing molecular diagnostics,” said Michael D. Webb, President and Chief Executive Officer of Allegro Diagnostics. “We rely on Duncan’s specific expertise in commercializing diagnostics as we advance our BronchoGen™ genomic test which we believe will be an important tool in the detection of lung cancer.”
“I am delighted to work with such a dedicated team,” said Dr. Whitney. “We have several near-term goals, including announcing data on the BronchoGen™ later this year.”
Dr. Whitney joined Allegro from Progenika, Inc., a microarray-based clinical diagnostics company, where he served as Chief Scientific Officer. Previously, he held senior scientific leadership roles at U.S., Genomics, Inc., Exact Sciences Corp., and PerSeptive Biosystems. Dr. Whitney holds a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.A. from Colby College.
About the Allegro Platform
Allegro Diagnostics’ molecular testing platform utilizes gene expression of normal epithelial cells in the respiratory tract to detect early signs of lung cancer. The “field of injury” principle on which the platform is based refers to the common molecular response that occurs throughout the respiratory tract in current and former smokers with lung cancer. These changes can be detected in a gene expression signature from non-malignant airway cells and indicate the presence of malignancy remotely in the lung. Allegro has applied this platform to generate multiple product candidates.
About Allegro Diagnostics
Allegro Diagnostics is a molecular diagnostics company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative genomic tests for the diagnosis, staging and informed treatment of lung cancer and other lung diseases. Allegro has developed a molecular testing platform that utilizes a genomic biomarker to detect early signs of lung cancer in current and former smokers. The company’s lead product is the BronchoGen™ genomic test for use in combination with standard bronchoscopy for the early diagnosis of lung cancer.
Contact:
Jennifer Conrad
MacDougall Biomedical Communications
jconrad@macbiocom.com
(781) 235-3060
