Foundation Medicine Names Priti Hegde, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Foundation Medicine, Inc. today announced the appointment of Priti Hegde, Ph.D., as chief scientific officer, effective August 5, 2019. Dr. Hegde will oversee clinical product development, cancer genomics, and early stage research, as well as regulatory and quality assurance, to accelerate advancement of the Company’s leading comprehensive genomic profiling portfolio. She will assume scientific leadership responsibilities from Michael Doherty, who will be retiring from Foundation Medicine in September. Dr. Hegde has spent nearly two decades in the biopharmaceutical industry, with a proven track record in drug development, registration and commercialization of therapeutics with companion diagnostics in cancer immunotherapy.

Dr. Hegde joins Foundation Medicine following 12 years at Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, where she held roles of increasing responsibility. Most recently, Dr. Hegde served as senior director and principal scientist in oncology biomarker development, during which she established and led the biomarker group accountable for translational science strategies in cancer immunotherapy and was responsible for clinical translation strategies for more than 18 therapeutic programs in over 100 Phase I-III global clinical trials. Dr. Hegde was instrumental in the approvals for Tecentriq® (atezolizumab), a PD-L1 immunotherapy, in both the United States and European Union, as well as its forthcoming diagnostic filings. She has worked closely with Foundation Medicine on several research collaborations, including a pivotal collaboration on tumor mutational burden (TMB).

“Dr. Hegde brings with her extensive experience in developing integrated research strategies in precision medicine. Accelerating scientific and product development at the forefront of science is critical to achieving our mission of transforming cancer care. Dr. Hegde’s expertise, particularly in immunotherapy, will allow expansion of our research capabilities and further evolution in our approach to impacting patient care,” said Cindy Perettie, chief executive officer at Foundation Medicine. “It’s truly a pleasure to welcome Dr. Hegde to the Foundation Medicine team.”

Prior to joining Genentech, Dr. Hegde was the manager of disease and biomarker transcriptomics at GlaxoSmithKline. She completed her post-doctoral fellowship at The Institute for Genomic Research and holds a Ph.D. in Biochemical Pharmacology from SUNY Buffalo, as well as a B. Pharmacy degree from Mumbai University, India.

About Foundation Medicine

Foundation Medicine is a molecular information company dedicated to a transformation in cancer care in which treatment is informed by a deep understanding of the genomic changes that contribute to each patient’s unique cancer. The company offers a full suite of comprehensive genomic profiling assays to identify the molecular alterations in a patient’s cancer and match them with relevant targeted therapies, immunotherapies and clinical trials. Foundation Medicine’s molecular information platform aims to improve day-to-day care for patients by serving the needs of clinicians, academic researchers and drug developers to help advance the science of molecular medicine in cancer. For more information, please visit www.FoundationMedicine.com or follow Foundation Medicine on Twitter (@FoundationATCG).

Foundation Medicine® is a registered trademark of Foundation Medicine, Inc.

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