Enigma Diagnostics Announces New San Diego Office and Appointment of Joel Centeno, VP Regulatory & Quality

OXFORD, England and SAN DIEGO, March 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Enigma Diagnostics Limited, the decentralised and point-of-care molecular diagnostics company, announced today the opening of its new Regional HQ office in San Diego, CA and the appointment of Joel Centeno as VP Regulatory & Quality.

The new 17,000sq ft premises on Nancy Ridge Drive in Sorrento Valley will provide Enigma with access to the deep resource pool of San Diego based in vitro diagnostics (IVD) professionals.  Enigma anticipates US office growth throughout 2010 to provide experience in sales & marketing, assay development, regulatory and manufacturing activities.  

Joel Centeno joins Enigma as VP Regulatory & Quality, US and will be responsible for obtaining appropriate regulatory approval for Enigma's rapid diagnostic instrument systems and products. Joel brings extensive executive experience in quality system design & implementation, new product development in molecular diagnostics and clinical trial expertise.  Before joining the Enigma team, Joel served as Director, QA/RA at Hologic, Inc. where in addition to leading global quality and regulatory activities for the Molecular Diagnostic Division, he also obtained FDA approval on products including Cervista HPV and Inplex cystic fibrosis IVD tests. Joel received his B.S. in Materials Engineering and Metallurgy from the University of Florida in 1999.

"I am very pleased to welcome Joel to our Global Team," said John McKinley, Chairman and CEO of Enigma. "His experience in achieving IVD product regulatory approval will drive the quality systems and regulatory approval necessary to deliver our molecular diagnostics point-of-care systems.  The new US Regional HQ at San Diego will support market penetration across the USA and globally with our rapidly growing and diverse diagnostic systems and future products."

About Enigma Diagnostics Limited

Enigma Diagnostics Limited specialises in developing next generation rapid molecular diagnostic instrument platforms for decentralized and point-of-care settings.

Enigma's innovative and proprietary technology combines the speed and sensitivity of real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) with the simplicity needed for decentralized and point-of-care testing providing results from a raw sample in less than 60 minutes. The Company is targeting a number of multi-billion pound markets, core among which are the Clinical and high-value Applied Markets. Enigma's commercialisation strategy is to maximize revenues from a continuous flow of market leading rapid diagnostic point-of- care instrument and assay platforms, based on unique technologies and underpinned by its broad Intellectual Property portfolio. Enigma will partner with market leaders where global penetration of markets is required and where appropriate, will engage regional partners and build in-house sales and marketing capability to direct distribution of its products.

Enigma has an exclusive license from the Defence Science Technology Laboratory to a portfolio of patents, which represent over 15 years of UK Ministry of Defence funded Research. It also has licences from Applied Biosystems and Celera Diagnostics for commercialisation of real-time PCR instruments, and from Roche Molecular Systems to practise HybProbe real-time PCR chemistry for human and veterinary in vitro diagnostics. Enigma's R&D activities have generated a portfolio of worldwide patent families dedicated to real-time PCR and wider molecular technologies. Many of these patents are granted across a range of core commercial territories including US, EU and Japan with more extensive filing and grants across a number of other key territories.

For more information visit www.enigmadiagnostics.com.

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SOURCE Enigma Diagnostics Limited