Purigen Biosystems Appoints Life Science Industry Veteran Barney Saunders, PhD, As Chief Executive Officer

PLEASANTON, Calif., Dec. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Purigen Biosystems, Inc., a company providing next generation technology for extracting, enriching and quantifying nucleic acid from biological samples, today announced that Barney Saunders, PhD, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors.

Dr. Saunders brings 30 years of experience managing emergent technologies and commercializing disruptive products for life science tools and diagnostics companies. Most recently, he was Nanostring Technologies' commercial leader where he spent seven years helping lead the company through significant revenue growth that supported a successful IPO. During his tenure at Nanostring, Dr. Saunders served as SVP Sales & Marketing, SVP & GM Life Sciences, and Chief Commercial Officer. From 2005 to 2010, Dr. Saunders was Chief Commercial Officer of Microchip Biotechnologies (now IntegenX), a manufacturer of automation systems enabling microsample preparation and analysis for life sciences. Prior to Microchip, he served as General Manager at Agilent Technologies where he led the team that launched the first commercially-available full genome arrays for human, rat and mouse and entered the array CGH (comparative genomic hybridization) market. Dr. Saunders began his career with Amersham International, a biopharma company acquired by General Electric in 2004, where he held a variety of commercial positions in the United States and Europe. He holds a BSc Hons in Biological Sciences and PhD in Molecular Biology from Birmingham University, England. 

Commenting on his appointment, Dr. Saunders said, "This is an exciting opportunity to lead a talented team dedicated to fundamentally transforming sample preparation for many underserved genomics applications. I look forward to working with the Purigen Biosystems team and Board of Directors, including Executive Chairman Joe Victor, to accelerate the company's product launch, growth and success."

"Barney brings significant executive experience in the life sciences industry and in developing early stage technologies into robust and disruptive commercial products," said Executive Chairman Joe Victor, Venture Partner at 5AM Ventures. "Dr. Saunders' addition further strengthens an impressive team at Purigen Biosystems."

About Purigen Biosystems, Inc.
Purigen Biosystems is redefining nucleic acid sample prep by providing an innovative platform based on the remarkably efficient isotachophoresis technology invented at Stanford University by Professor Juan Santiago. Purigen's automated benchtop instrumentation, and accompanying microfluidic chip, purifies and quantitates nucleic samples from a wide variety of sources, including minute or otherwise challenging cancer samples. The purified DNA or RNA is then immediately compatible with a wide range of downstream detection methods, including next-generation sequencing, PCR, and other genomic applications. For more information, visit:  www.purigenbio.com

SOURCE Purigen Biosystems