DURHAM, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GeneCentric Therapeutics, Inc. today announced the appointment of Michael V. Milburn, PhD, as Chief Executive Officer and President, and he will join GeneCentric’s Board of Directors. Dr. Myla Lai-Goldman, founder, current CEO and President, will assume the newly-created role of Executive Chairperson of the Board of Directors, succeeding Clay Thorp, Founder and General Partner at Hatteras Venture Partners, as Board Chair.
“We founded GeneCentric, with UNC researchers Chuck Perou and Neil Hayes, with a vision to develop cancer tests to match a drug to an individual patient in order to maximize the efficacy of cancer treatments and reduce adverse events,” said Dr. Lai-Goldman. “We have made great progress in establishing a subtyping platform built around an expanding array of pan-cancer tests, applying the platform to lung, head and neck, bladder, and pancreatic cancer, and entering initial partnerships with pharmaceutical companies to enable precision drug development in oncology. Michael is well positioned to build on the scientific base we have established and drive our commercial efforts with pharmaceutical companies.”
In addition to GeneCentric, Dr. Lai Goldman serves on the Board of Directors at West Pharmaceutical Services and Qvella Corporation as well as a Venture Partner with Hatteras Venture Partners.
“GeneCentric is at the forefront of developing RNA-based informatics and data science which will be key to developing the next generation cancer immunotherapies and chemotherapies,” said Milburn. “Myla and the scientific founders and team have been instrumental in building a technology that is highly valued by our pharmaceutical partners to get the right cancer treatment to the right patient. This is a very exciting time for GeneCentric as we begin to deploy our cancer tests alongside cancer drugs.”
Dr. Milburn joined GeneCentric in September of 2018 as Chief Scientific Officer and leads the development of its RNA-based technology platform for developing new cancer tests focused on pharmaceutical drug development. Previously, Dr. Milburn was CSO at Metabolon and led the R&D efforts that established the company as a premier metabolomics technology. Prior to Metabolon, he served as Senior Vice President of Research and Corporate Development at Sirtris Pharmaceuticals and Senior Vice President of Research at Plexxikon. He also held senior research positions at Structural Genomix and GlaxoWellcome.
Dr. Milburn received his PhD in Biophysical Chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley and was a post-doctoral research fellow at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Milburn has published over 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles and is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Molecular and Structural Biochemistry at NCSU.
“Michael brings a broad range of expertise that spans drug development, biomarker discovery and diagnostic development and commercialization, along with a strong track record commercial execution that built significant value,” said Clay Thorp, Founder and General Partner at Hatteras Venture Partners. “We look forward to his new leadership role at GeneCentric as they expand their cancer technology and expertise with pharmaceutical partners.”
About GeneCentric Therapeutics, Inc.
GeneCentric Therapeutics, Inc., based in Research Triangle Park, N.C., is applying proprietary technology to identify drug responder populations that enable the development of precision cancer drugs while improving patient outcomes. GeneCentric applies its Cancer Subtype Platform (CSP®) to parse the complexity of tumor biology and generate genomic signatures. This approach yields high-resolution cancer subtypes with the potential to function as universal biomarkers for susceptibility to immune-based, targeted and other therapies. In commercializing the technology through strategic collaborations with pharmaceutical and biotech companies, GeneCentric defines responder populations based on subtypes throughout the drug development cycle. For more information, please visit www.GeneCentric.com.
