New Venture to Focus on Integrating Clinically Relevant Genetic Information from the Human Genome into Routine Medical Practice
|
|
(HealthNewsDigest.com) – REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Feb. 6, 2012 — Genomic Health, Inc. (Nasdaq: GHDX) today announced plans to establish a wholly owned subsidiary with the goal of improving the quality of diagnosis, communication and support for millions of patients and their families faced with common and rare genetic conditions. The subsidiary is expected to be established by March 1, 2012 and provide its first commercial service in 2013. The new venture will be led by Randy Scott, who in his role as Executive Chairman for the past three years has focused on commercial applications of next generation sequencing.
The new subsidiary will focus on accelerating the integration of the human genome into medical practice with an emphasis on bioinformatics and clinical utility. Dr. Scott will be CEO of the new subsidiary and remain a Genomic Health Board member and Kim Popovits, President and Chief Executive Officer, will assume the additional role of Chairman of the Board effective March 1, 2012. In a related action, Julian Baker has been named as Lead Independent Director.
“As the cost of DNA sequencing continues to drop, new medical applications with the potential to impact millions of people are rapidly emerging,” said Randy Scott, Executive Chairman of Genomic Health. “We are at a unique turning point in medicine and believe the investment we have made over the past several years in the development of a robust next generation sequencing platform and the capabilities we have established in building a successful cancer genomic business make this the ideal time to expand into both common and rare genetic conditions and expect this new start-up to be a significant long-term contributor to the company’s growth.”
Genomic Health plans to invest up to $20 million in the new subsidiary over the next two years and has incorporated this into its 2012 financial outlook provided in its separate earnings release issued today. The new venture will focus on commercial applications of the human genome and plans to leverage Genomic Health’s research and development as well as third party R&D efforts.
“With our ability to leverage Genomic Health’s established commercial infrastructure, clinical laboratory, research and development, and information technology platform, we believe we are uniquely positioned to lead the translation of individual genomic sequencing into real world medical practice by making this investment to expand our business,” said Kim Popovits, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Randy has the vision and entrepreneurial track record to lead this exciting new endeavor as we continue our mission to deliver future growth and better outcomes for physicians, patients and payers through Genomic Health.”
About Genomic Health
Genomic Health, Inc. (NASDAQ: GHDX) is a global cancer company focused on the development and commercialization of genomic-based clinical laboratory services that analyze the underlying biology of cancer allowing physicians and patients to make individualized treatment decisions. Its lead product, the Oncotype DX® breast cancer test, has been shown to predict the likelihood of chemotherapy benefit as well as recurrence in invasive breast cancer and has been shown to the predict the likelihood of recurrence in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). In addition to this widely adopted test, Genomic Health provides the Oncotype DX colon cancer test, the first multigame expression test developed for the assessment of risk of recurrence in patients with stage II disease. As of December 31, 2011, more than 10,000 physicians in over 65 countries had ordered more than 265,000 Oncotype DX tests. Genomic Health has a robust pipeline focused on developing tests to optimize the treatment of prostate and renal cell cancers, as well as additional treatment decisions in breast and colon cancers. The company is based in Redwood City, California with European headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. For more information, please visit, www.GenomicHealth.com. To learn more about Oncotype DX tests, visit: www.OncotypeDX.com and www.mybreastcancertreatment.org.
Web Site: http://www.mybreastcancertreatment.org
###
For advertising and promotion on HealthNewsDigest.com please contact Mike McCurdy: [email protected] or 877-634-9180
HealthNewsDigest.com is syndicated worldwide and has over 7,000 journalists as subscribers.
www.HealthNewsDigest.com