PrimeraDx Appoints Leroy Hood to its Scientific Advisory Board

MANSFIELD, Mass., Dec. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- PrimeraDx today announced that Leroy Hood, MD, PhD, a world recognized leader in the molecular device industry, has been appointed to its Scientific Advisory Board. 

"High multiplex qPCR diagnostics is a key step in bringing personalized medicine to the clinic," commented Dr. Hood.  "I am delighted to help PrimeraDx take the step from an innovative next generation qPCR platform to a robust molecular diagnostics solution."

"Lee brings a breadth of knowledge in the molecular device industry that no one else has.  With Lee's scientific vision we will move forward with our goal of transforming molecular diagnostic medicine and improving patient care," said President and CEO Matthew McManus.

Dr. Hood has established a systems approach to understanding the complexity of biology and medicine.  He has played a pivotal role in the DNA sequencing industry and his innovations were essential for the sequencing of the human genome.  Dr. Hood has been instrumental in the founding of numerous research and commercial enterprises, including Applied Biosystems, Amgen and the Institute for System Biology, where he currently holds the position of President.  He has won several awards and accolades, including; the 2003 AMP award for excellence in Molecular Diagnostics, the Academy of Engineering's Russ Prize, the Lasker Award and the Kyoto Prize.  Dr. Hood has more than 700 peer reviewed articles and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine.

About PrimeraDx

PrimeraDx is a molecular diagnostics company that has developed, and is commercializing, a novel, game-changing clinical platform which combines PCR with capillary electrophoresis.  The result of combining these two well-known technologies into a bench-top instrument is the ability to deliver highly multiplexed and quantitative answers to the clinic.  The company is pursuing a two pronged strategy to sell the system in an Open Platform Mode to clinical labs and to collaborate with pharmaceutical companies to develop high-value companion and enabling diagnostic products.  Users can easily design very complex multi-modal assays that test for disparate target types, like SNPs, expression biomarkers, microRNAs and fusion genes.  PrimeraDx's technology represents the next generation of quantitative PCR.  The Company is backed by a strong group of experienced venture-capital investors, including Abingworth, InterWest Partners, CHL Medical Partners, and Malaysia Technology Development Corporation.  The Company's website is: www.primeradx.com or www.multiplexpcr.com.

CONTACT: Andrew Bond, +1-508-618-2752, [email protected]

SOURCE PrimeraDx