WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Empire Genomics Inc., the premier global provider of clinical and custom labeled molecular probes, today announced the appointments of Andy Watson as Chief Executive Officer and Anthony Scarpello to Chief Commercialization Officer, and the opening of its new headquarters in Williamsville, NY. After a successful and profitable 2018, the company is now focused on increasing operational efficiencies, driving its long-term commercial growth strategy and enabling more customers to advance biomarker research, accelerate diagnosis and improve treatment options for individual patients battling cancer and other complex diseases.
Empire Genomics designs, manufactures and distributes a comprehensive menu of custom and clinical molecular probes. Founded by prominent human genomics pioneer, Norma J. Nowak, PhD, the company has evolved from a Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center spin-out in 2006 to a leading provider of Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) and Chromogenic In Situ Hybridization (CISH) probes. These innovative products are currently being used by hundreds of leading clinical laboratories, biotechnology companies and academic institutions around the world.
“Empire Genomics is now at a very exciting inflection point in our commercial evolution after quickly becoming a leading global provider of molecular diagnostic FISH probes,” said Norma J. Nowak, PhD, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Empire Genomics. “Andy and Anthony are both highly respected industry leaders and the fact that we were able to attract and retain top-tier executive talent is not only a testament to the legacy of the company but also the quality of our technology and our proven ability to consistently deliver products that improve genetic research and patient care.”
Proven Leadership
Both Andy Watson and Anthony Scarpello
bring a successful track record of leading genomics and molecular
diagnostic companies, increasing operational efficiencies and delivering
innovative life science and clinical laboratory products.
Andy Watson
Chief Executive Officer
As the new
Chief Executive Officer, Andy Watson brings more than two decades of
leadership experience in developing, managing and commercializing
innovative genomics technologies. Previously, Mr. Watson was the Chief
Executive Officer at Genturi, a genomics technology start-up company,
and the Chief Commercial Officer at RainDance Technologies, a leading
provider of microfluidic targeted sequencing and digital PCR
technologies that was acquired by Bio-Rad Laboratories. Prior to
Raindance, he was the Vice President of SOLiD Sequencing Product
Management at Life Technologies, where he was responsible for business
strategy, marketing, and product management for next-generation
sequencing. Mr. Watson led Applied Biosystems’ (now part of Life
Technologies) $550M capillary electrophoresis (CE) sequencing business,
including instruments, reagents, and software. During his career, he
has raised more than $140 million from corporate partnerships, venture
capital, debt, and government grants, and has been a key player in M&A
with deals up to $725 million. He is an inventor on 16 patents and
author of 10 peer-reviewed scientific publications, including papers
that showcased results of a landmark human genome sequencing study and a
critical C. elegans genome sequencing project.
Anthony Scarpello
Chief Commercialization Officer
Mr.
Scarpello was promoted from Vice President of Sales and Business
Development to Chief Commercialization Officer. Since joining Empire
Genomics in 2009, he has been responsible for building long-term
relationships with customers, guiding product and service line
extensions and penetrating new markets. Mr. Scarpello previously held
numerous senior management roles with Enzo Life Sciences, where he built
the commercial team and drove the expansion of the business development
practice.
New Headquarters
In the past year, Empire Genomics relocated
to its new 13,000 square foot headquarters in Williamsville, NY. The
more extensive laboratory and office facility triples the size of the
previous workspace and enables the company to expand operations and
recruit top-tier scientific talent.
About Empire Genomics
Empire Genomics designs, manufactures
and distributes a comprehensive menu of clinical and custom labeled
molecular probes, enabling hundreds of leading global clinical
laboratories, biotechnology organizations and academic institutions to
advance biomarker research, accelerate diagnoses and improve
personalized treatment options for patients battling cancer and other
complex diseases. The company was founded in 2006 by Norma J. Nowak,
PhD, a prominent member of the Human Genome Project, to utilize
innovative research started at the prestigious Roswell Park
Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York. The product portfolio
includes Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization (FISH) and
Chromogenic in Situ Hybridization (CISH) probes that are designed
and optimized for specific diseases, genes, and/or regions across the
entire human or mouse genomes. The company’s technology has now been
cited in more than 500 peer-reviewed scientific publications. For more
information, please visit www.empiregenomics.com.
