ROYAL OAK, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--OncoCell MDx, a company developing novel noninvasive diagnostic and prognostic tests by harnessing the power of the immune system, today announced the appointment of Mark McDonough as its president, chief executive officer (CEO) and member of the Board of Directors. McDonough succeeds company co-founder, investor and Chairman/CEO Harry Stylli, Ph.D. Stylli continues as the executive chairman of the company.
"Since OncoCell’s founding, we have built an outstanding research and development capability and advanced a proprietary platform that exploits the power of the immune system and machine learning to non-invasively identify robust disease signatures for many pathologies. Although the platform has the capability to target any analyte, we chose to exploit gene expression. To date we have analyzed about 2,000 patient samples to identify a unique immunogenomic signature that can discriminate subjects with indolent and aggressive prostate cancer from normal controls. With the presentation of promising results from our recent study at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting, we demonstrated the potential of our technology to aid in early detection and progression of disease pathology,” said Stylli.
“Mark has an outstanding track record in generating significant value at both large and small companies in the molecular diagnostics field and especially for companies like ours that are approaching commercialization,” he added. “I’m excited that he will lead OncoCell MDx in our mission to bring novel technologies to market that help physicians better manage patients with prostate cancer and other pathologies.”
McDonough most recently served as the chief business officer at Phosphorus, a genomic health company, where he helped increase the company’s revenue by more than tenfold in less than a year. Prior to joining Phosphorus, McDonough served as chief executive officer and president of CombiMatrix, a publicly held molecular diagnostics company performing DNA-based testing services for reproductive health and developmental disorders, through its acquisition by Invitae Corp. He also held executive and management positions with US LABS (acquired by LabCorp) and Ventana Medical Systems (acquired by Roche) as well as Pathwork Diagnostics.
“OncoCell’s platform facilitates not just detection, but also grading and aggressiveness of disease, leading to more timely and better directed medical decision making. I’m inspired by the company’s potential to improve the quality, effectiveness and efficiency of patient care, and I’m humbled to lead what is already a very strong team into our next stage of clinical and corporate development,” McDonough said. “I would like to thank the Board and Harry Stylli for the opportunity to build on the company’s successes and momentum as we continue to move OncoCell MDx forward.”
McDonough is currently an advisor for Phosphorus and Natal Health. He is a former navigator in the U.S. Navy and holds a B.S. in Finance from Miami University.
About OncoCell MDx
OncoCell MDx is a privately held company developing and commercializing novel diagnostic tests utilizing proprietary technologies created at Harvard Medical School. The company’s noninvasive blood-based immunogenomic assays are designed to aid physicians to better understand underlying disease pathology in prostate cancer and other oncology and non-oncology indications.
