BRISBANE, Calif., Jan. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- XDx, a molecular diagnostics company, announced today the appointment of Mitchell J. Nelles, Ph.D., to the position of vice president of research and development and technical operations. In this new and expanded role, effective December 4, 2006, Dr. Nelles will leverage his significant leadership experience in research and development to build upon the company's strong product pipeline and oversee the expansion of XDx's first service offering, the AlloMap(R) molecular expression test.
"Mitch's proven track record in new product development and post market support make him a tremendous asset to the XDx team," said Pierre Cassigneul, president and chief executive officer of XDx. "He also has significant knowledge and experience working in regulated environments, a valuable area of expertise for the diagnostic industry at this time."
Dr. Nelles brings to XDx more than 20 years of management and research and development experience in a variety of in vitro diagnostic (IVD) technology and business areas. Most recently Dr. Nelles served as vice president of North American research and development at bioMerieux, Inc., where he was responsible for product development and project management for the Bacteriology, Molecular Diagnostics, Immunodiagnostics and Hemostasis business franchises.
"XDx has established itself as a leader in molecular diagnostics and I am eager to join the company at a time of further exploration and expansion," said Dr. Nelles. "The company's ability to translate an individual's immune status into clinically actionable information holds enormous potential for any number of immune related diseases, including common autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases. That promise makes this an exciting time to join the R&D team at XDx."
Prior to his work at bioMerieux, Dr. Nelles served as vice president of research and development at TriPath Oncology (TriPath Imaging). In this role, he led efforts to develop molecular based products for the diagnosis and prognosis of cancers of the skin, breast, cervix, ovary, prostate and colon.
Earlier in his career, Dr. Nelles held a variety of technical and managerial positions of increasing responsibility, including vice president of transfusion medicine and immunodiagnostic assay R&D at Ortho Clinical Diagnostics (Johnson and Johnson). Leading worldwide research and development activities in support of the Blood Screening, Blood Typing, Immunodiagnostic and RhoGAM business franchises, Dr. Nelles and his team developed the first blood screening and diagnostic test used worldwide for the detection of Hepatitis C.
Dr. Nelles obtained a Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences from Rutgers College, a Ph.D. in Immunology/BioMedical Sciences from the University of Texas, Health Sciences Center at Dallas and completed postdoctoral training in Immune Regulation at Brandeis University. He has also completed executive business courses at Harvard, MIT and Wharton Business Schools.
About XDx
XDx's mission is to improve patient care by developing molecular diagnostics that translate an individual's immune status into clinically actionable information.
Founded in 2000, XDx is a molecular diagnostics company that utilizes state-of-the-art gene expression technology and sophisticated bioinformatics analyses to understand and measure the immune processes that underlie specific disease conditions. Physicians can use this information to optimize patient treatment and minimize the long-term consequences of immunosuppressive therapies.
About AlloMap(R) Molecular Expression Testing
The first product using this unique approach is AlloMap(R) molecular expression testing. This service, offered through the XDx CLIA-certified reference laboratory since January 2005, is being used by a number of leading cardiac transplant centers in the US to monitor patients following their heart transplants. The scientific and clinical validation of this technology has been described in a peer-reviewed article published in the American Journal of Transplantation.
XDx's science and technology is now being evaluated in patients with other solid organ transplants. Building on the discoveries made during the development of AlloMap testing for heart transplant patients, which included the identification of many genes and pathways involved in tissue rejection, XDx is now developing a product for use by physicians to better manage lung transplant patients.
Beyond the use of AlloMap testing in assessing immune reaction in solid organ transplantation, XDx scientists are applying similar approaches to create new molecular diagnostics tests for the improved clinical management of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or lupus,) to diagnose and predict clinical flares common in a variety of these diseases.
In addition to its potential for use by physicians for better patient management, the XDx approach is of interest to pharmaceutical companies looking to use biomarkers predictive of drug efficacy in order to proactively identify patient response and to better target their drug development efforts and clinical trials. More information can be found at www.allomap.com.
XDxCONTACT: corporate, Tammy Reilly of XDx, +1-650-624-0120; or media, KellyMcKenna of MS&L, +1-415-293-2808, for XDx
