GeneNews Appoints Dr. Roman Zastawny VP Biomarker Development
TORONTO, CANADA (November 15, 2006): GeneNews Limited (TSX: GEN), formerly ChondroGene Limited, announced today that Dr. Roman L. Zastawny has been appointed Vice President of Biomarker Development. In this role he will lead the product development effort at GeneNews with primary responsibility for moving the Company's first product, ColonSentry™, from R&D to commercialization.
Dr. Zastawny has worked in a number of medical device and biotech companies and has been involved in successfully developing in vitro diagnostic (IVD) products, moving them through the relevant US and Canadian regulatory processes, and then on through to full commercialization. As Vice President of Research and Development at Tm Bioscience Corporation, Dr. Zastawny led the team which produced the first multiple analyte human genetic disease test, a DNA genotyping test for cystic fibrosis, which was cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an IVD in 2005. Most recently, as Vice President of Development at Novx Systems, Roman was involved in obtaining Health Canada approval for a near-patient analyzer system as a Class III Medical Device.
"Dr. Zastawny is a significant addition to our team as we move ColonSentry™ from the lab to the market," stated K. Wayne Marshall, MD, PhD, President and CEO of GeneNews. "Roman's recent involvement with the development of two complex molecular diagnostic assays as well as his scientific expertise add important depth to our capabilities and will be invaluable to us as we continue to build the infrastructure required for successful product development and commercialization."
Dr. Zastawny received his B.Sc. degree and Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of Toronto. He continued on to do a Medical Research Council of Canada Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the University of Toronto in Pharmacology. He is a member of the American Association of Clinical Chemistry and has numerous publications and patents in the area of molecular biology.
About GeneNews
GeneNews is an emerging molecular diagnostics company focused on the application of functional genomics to enable early diagnosis and personalized health management based on disease-specific biomarkers. The Company has a patented core platform technology, the Sentinel Principle®, which has the power to detect and stage virtually any disease or medical condition from a simple blood sample. GeneNews is currently applying the Sentinel Principle® in major areas with unmet clinical needs such as cancer, arthritis, cardiovascular disease and neurological disorders. GeneNews launched its first commercial product, ColonSentry™, a blood-based test to pre-screen and assess an individual's risk for colorectal cancer, in Canada in 2008. The company's first US marketing partner, Enzo Clinical Labs, is expected to launch the ColonSentry™ test in New York and New Jersey in the second half of 2010. For more information on GeneNews and ColonSentry™, visit www.genenews.com or www.ColonSentry.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
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