SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire - 05/10/10) - AltheaDx, Inc., a privately held molecular diagnostics company and a leader in the development of companion diagnostics for biopharmaceutical partners, today announced that Wendy Benson has been appointed CEO and President, replacing interim co-CEOs, Drs. François Ferré and Magda Marquet. Additionally, the company announced the appointment of Dr. Ann Kessler and Wendy Benson to the AltheaDx Board of Directors.
“AltheaDx is very fortunate to have two industry veterans join our quest to make personalized medicine a reality,” said Dr. François Ferré, co-chairman of the board of AltheaDx. “Ann’s enormous experience with Hoffman - La Roche in the drug development world, combined with Wendy’s practical knowledge in strategic planning and implementation, earned while at Roche Molecular Diagnostics, will immediately add an exciting dimension to both our board and management teams,” said Dr. Magda Marquet, co-chairman.
“I very much look forward to contributing to AltheaDx in its implementation strategic goals and as a leader in the companion diagnostics space,” said Wendy Benson, the new CEO and President of AltheaDx.
Wendy comes to AltheaDx with more than 20 years of experience in the In Vitro Diagnostics industry. Most recently, she was President and CEO at HX Diagnostics, a Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers company founded in 2006. Prior to her time at HX Diagnostics, Wendy worked for Roche Molecular Diagnostics in a variety of positions including Head of Strategic Planning. She also worked at Ortho Clinical Diagnostics (a Johnson & Johnson company) as well as Genetic Systems.
AltheaDx’s current Board of Directors consists of co-chairs, Magda Marquet and Francois Ferre as well as Matthew Mackowski and Deval Lashhari from Telegraph Hill Partners. Ann Kessler joins James Glavin as an Independent Director.
“This is an exciting time in drug development, as we see the convergence of diagnostics with therapeutic development. I am glad to be on the board of a world-class team that is dedicated to fulfilling their destiny,” said Dr. Ann Kessler, the newest member of the board of directors of AltheaDx.
Dr. Kessler has 27 years of full-time pharmaceutical industry experience in the United States and Europe with Hoffmann - La Roche, where she served as Director of International Project Management and was responsible for global project development decisions. She also held previous positions as Director of the Division of Exploratory Research, the Departments of Pharmacology and Chemotherapy and the Department of Biochemical Nutrition. Her managerial responsibilities in Research and Development concerned the discovery and development of novel drugs for global registration and launch in a number of therapeutic areas, including nervous system disorders. She holds 16 patents concerning pharmacological approaches to diseases.
About Althea Dx:
AltheaDx, based in San Diego, CA, is bringing theranostics into clinical use. The goal of AltheaDx is to reduce the time, risk, and cost of therapeutic development for our partners and to provide a clear path for development and commercialization of high-value companion diagnostic tests. Additional information can be found at www.altheadx.com.
AltheaDx Contact: Cyrus K. Mirsaidi Vice President, Business Development (858) 882-0220 x 325 Email Contact
