SAN DIEGO, July 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Cypher Genomics, Inc., the genome informatics company, announced today the appointment of Henry (Hank) Nordhoff as executive chairman of Cypher’s board of directors. Nordhoff directed Gen-Probe for 15 years as president and CEO and served as chairman of Gen-Probe’s board of directors. In addition, Cypher appointed as directors: Herbert Boyer, Ph.D., who co-founded and led Genentech as vice president, and Andrew von Eschenbach, M.D., who was the former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Cypher Genomics has developed fast, accurate and robust genome interpretation and analysis technologies that support novel diagnostics, efficient clinical trials and precision therapeutic decisions.
“We are excited to welcome to Cypher’s board of directors, Hank, Herb and Andy, who are exceptional pioneers in diagnostic development, biotech innovation and regulatory advancement,” said Eric Topol, M.D., co-founder and board member of Cypher Genomics. “Both Hank and Herb have remarkable success in translating transformative, new technologies into groundbreaking life science companies, and Andy was a trailblazer in implementing new programs and technologies to advance the FDA regulatory process. Their experience and expertise brings tremendous value as we advance Cypher Genomics’ powerful technology to improve genomic testing and biomarker discovery for more effective diagnostics and more efficient clinical trials.”
“As human genome sequencing has become more accurate and accessible, the industry needs robust genome interpretation tools to quickly identify, in small sample sizes, genetic markers and changes and their contribution to disease and therapeutic responses,” said Nordhoff, executive chairman of Cypher Genomics. “The opportunity in Cypher’s technology is to uncover how our underlying DNA sequence impacts our well-being and use that information to personalize health management and improve medical care worldwide.”
Henry (Hank) Nordhoff has an exceptional depth of experience and expertise in diagnostic, pharmaceutical, operations and business. He served as president and CEO of Gen-Probe for 15 years until his retirement in May 2009. In addition to Gen-Probe, he served as CEO of three successful biopharmaceutical companies. At the beginning of his career, Nordhoff spent 16 years at Pfizer in senior positions and lived (and worked) in Europe and Asia for 11 years.
Herbert Boyer, Ph.D. co-founded Genentech with Robert Swanson in 1976 and served as a director of the company until its 2008 acquisition by Roche. He also was a vice president of the company from 1976 to 1990. Dr. Boyer also served on the board of Allergan for 19 years, 12 years as vice chairman and three years as chairman. In addition, Dr. Boyer was a professor at the University of California, San Francisco and an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and a fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS). Dr. Boyer received the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award in 1980 and the Shaw Prize for life science and medicine and the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research, each in 2004.
Andrew von Eschenbach, M.D. currently serves as president of Samaritan Health Initiatives and as an adjunct professor at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. From September 2005 to January 2009, he served as commissioner of the U.S. FDA, where he championed an agenda to modernize the FDA by process improvement of the regulatory pathway for drugs and medical devices and by fostering creative projects, including FDA’s Critical Path Initiative. Under his leadership, the FDA experienced dramatic increases in resources enabling implementation of many new programs designed to strengthen the FDA in its mission to protect and promote public health. Prior to joining the FDA, Dr. von Eschenbach served as the director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and had an outstanding and award-recognized career over three decades as a physician, surgeon, oncologist and executive. In 2006, Dr. von Eschenbach was named one of Time magazine’s “100 most influential people to shape the world.”
About Cypher Genomics
Cypher Genomics is a leading genome informatics company offering a highly accurate, rapid and robust interpretation software solution for users of human genome sequencing. The proprietary, automated genomic interpretation platform allows clinical laboratories to tune Cypher Genomics’ market leading sensitivity and specificity profiles to develop molecular tests for diagnostic and prognostic use and pharmaceutical companies to discover biomarkers from whole genome sequence data in sample sizes typical of early stage drug development studies. Through MantisTM, the genome interpretation software as a service offering, and CoralTM, a biomarker discovery service, Cypher Genomics can improve health care and reduce costs by facilitating improved diagnostic accuracy and earlier interventions, optimizing therapeutic approaches and reducing adverse drug reactions. Cypher Genomics is located in San Diego, California.
For more information about Cypher Genomics, visit www.cyphergenomics.com.
SOURCE Cypher Genomics, Inc.
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