FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Navigenics, a leading personal genomics company, announced today that Vance Vanier, MD, has been appointed by the Board of Directors to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer of the firm.
Dr. Vanier joined Navigenics as Chief Medical Officer in April of 2008 and has been instrumental in growing the company’s clinical offerings as well as institutional research and corporate partnerships. Prior to joining Navigenics, he was a partner at venture capital firm, Mohr Davidow Ventures where he spent years in the molecular diagnostics industry bringing new genomic technologies into clinical practice. Vanier also serves as a clinical faculty member of Stanford University Medical Center.
“Navigenics has defined preventive genomics and its potential to enable prevention and motivate behavior change, and I look forward to leading the company as it continues to pioneer in this emerging industry,” said Dr. Vanier. “Interest in wellness and prevention is briskly increasing and I am confident that the company is well positioned for the opportunities that lie ahead.”
As the number one personalized genetic testing provider recommended by physicians, in the last year Navigenics has also become the personal genomics testing service of choice for corporate health programs. According to the management team, the company has a considerable pipeline of corporate accounts and has begun introducing preventive genomics-based health to increasing numbers of people through employer-based partnerships. To date, the company has successfully integrated into the health and wellness programs of large, self-insured employers by offering large scale preventive genomic programs in order to increase employee motivation to improve lifestyle, enhance participation in existing employee wellness offerings, and improve medical compliance.
“It was Vance’s vision that guided Navigenics into the physician and employer wellness markets, and he has been critical to Navigenics’ success over the past two years,” said Dana G. Mead, Jr., partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and member of Navigenics’ Board of Directors. “As the company evolves its corporate strategy, forging deeper relationships with physician groups and employer-sponsored health and wellness programs, Vance’s clinical experience and exceptional leadership make him a natural choice to lead the company.”
“Vance has displayed an impressive commitment to getting at the heart of one of the biggest obstacles to preventive healthcare – motivating people to engage in healthy lifestyles,” said Pam Hymel, M.D. Medical Director of Cisco, President of American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. “But when it is successful, we have seen that every dollar spent on prevention yields three dollars in benefits. I believe that any behavior change that Navigenics can accomplish is consequently very valuable.”
ABOUT NAVIGENICS
Navigenics, Inc. is a privately held company based in Foster City, Calif. The company was founded by David Agus, M.D. and Dietrich Stephan, Ph.D., with the goal of improving health outcomes in individuals across the population. Navigenics educates and empowers individuals and their physicians with knowledge of their genetic predispositions, and then motivates them to act on the information to prevent the onset of disease, achieve earlier diagnosis, appropriately manage disease, or otherwise lessen its impact. Navigenics’ lead investors are Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, Sequoia Capital and MDV-Mohr Davidow Ventures. More information can be found at www.navigenics.com.
Contact:
Navigenics, Inc. Brenna Sweeney, 650-585-7523 bsweeney@navigenics.com
