MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Personalis, Inc. (Nasdaq: PSNL), a leader in advanced genomics for population sequencing and cancer, today announced the appointment of Kevin Dunne as its new Head of Population Genomics.
Mr. Dunne brings an extraordinarily relevant background to this role. After studying at Oxford University, he worked in research at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics which had been recently established at Oxford. He focused on technologies for high-throughput genomics, a theme which has continued through his career. From there he has spent over 25 years in roles of increasing commercial responsibility at the intersection of high-throughput genomic technologies, pharma and diagnostics. He was involved in early planning for the Genomics England effort to sequence 100,000 human genomes in the UK.
Prior to joining Personalis, Mr. Dunne was VP, Head of Clinical Partnerships and Business Development at Genomics Medicine Ireland (GMI), a division of WuXi NextCODE (now Genuity Science). GMI was founded in 2015 and in 2018 secured funding of $400M to sequence genomes of 400,000 people in Ireland. Mr. Dunne then moved into the role of VP, Head of Disease Cohort Commercialization, which enabled GMI to engage actively with pharmaceutical companies in the drug discovery space, adding to a collaboration with AbbVie which Mr. Dunne managed.
“We anticipate that population genomics efforts will increasingly integrate healthcare systems with academic and pharmaceutical research and include both inherited disease risk and the management of cancer. Kevin brings a great background to enable this collaborative vision of the future," said John West, Personalis CEO.
Personalis also announced today that it has been able to continue laboratory operations in spite of the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, and has now delivered over 87,000 genomes to date for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Million Veteran Program (VA MVP). The company has received over 100,000 samples to date, and continues to receive samples from the MVP.
About Personalis, Inc.
Personalis, Inc. is a leader in population sequencing and cancer genomics, with a focus on data, scale, efficiency and quality. Personalis operates one of the largest sequencing operations globally and is currently the sole sequencing provider to the VA MVP. In oncology, Personalis is transforming the development of next-generation therapies by providing more comprehensive molecular data about each patient’s cancer and immune response. The Personalis® ImmunoID NeXT Platform® is designed to adapt to the complex and evolving understanding of cancer, providing its biopharmaceutical customers with information on all of the approximately 20,000 human genes, together with the immune system, from a single tissue sample. The Personalis Clinical Laboratory is GxP-aligned as well as CLIA’88-certified and CAP-accredited. For more information, please visit www.personalis.com and follow Personalis on Twitter (@PersonalisInc).
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains or may imply "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts, including, for example, statements relating to the potential advancement of or growth opportunities for Personalis’ business, expansion of Personalis’ market presence in population genomics and immuno-oncology, the company’s services for the VA MVP, continued laboratory operations, the expected completion date for sequencing 100,000 samples, and other future events. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including those related to population sequencing and cancer genomics, market adoption of our services, our expectations regarding future performance, and the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as other risks and uncertainties discussed in Personalis’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of the Company’s most recently filed periodic reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q and subsequent filings and in the documents incorporated by reference therein, all of which may significantly impact our business and operations, the business and operations of our customers, our ability to access capital and the value of our common stock. Except as otherwise required by law, Personalis disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise.
