Swift Biosciences Builds on Momentum, Accelerates Growth with Addition of Nathan Wood as New CEO
Results-driven, customer-focused leader to drive continued expansion in personalized medicine, disease research markets
ANN ARBOR, Mich., May 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Swift Biosciences, a leading provider of innovative library prep solutions for genomic sequencing, today named industry veteran Nathan Wood as its new CEO. The hire is the latest in a recent series of strategic moves by Swift to solidify its position serving the personalized medicine, drug discovery and disease research markets.
Wood's addition follows Swift's relocation and expansion of its Ann Arbor headquarters, and the opening of its first west coast office in the San Francisco Bay Area. It also follows the launch of Swift's revolutionary Accel-Amplicon Plus Cancer Panels for precision medicine initiatives, and its Unique Dual Indexing Kits to improve accuracy of low frequency variant calling in multiplexed next generation sequencing (NGS).
Wood has nearly 30 years of proven experience in sales, marketing, product development and management, having held leadership positions at several companies in the genomics and life sciences industries, including Life Technologies Corporation and QIAGEN Inc. He will be responsible for the development and implementation of the company's overall strategy, bringing a customer-centric perspective to product development, marketing and support.
Most recently, Wood served as president of SGI-DNA, a Synthetic Genomics Company that specializes in proprietary DNA technologies. Under his leadership, SGI-DNA grew quickly by effectively leveraging new products, software and marketing strategies. Additionally, Wood's experience—across European and American multinational companies—spans strategic planning, financial performance measurement and global business strategy.
"Nathan brings discipline and the customer voice to Swift, along with a track record of driving outstanding results from the fast-moving markets we are ideally positioned to serve," said Dan Kidle, Chairman of the Swift board of directors. "As NGS becomes the standard for discovery, research and high-throughput screening, Swift is working hard to ensure we have the products, people and capacity to deliver unmatched value to these markets. We now have the right leader to ensure we will fully capitalize on every opportunity."
"Swift has strategically worked to position itself for growth in sync with increased NGS implementation in a wide range of clinical and research environments," Wood said. "I am very pleased to join Swift when there is so much opportunity on the horizon. Swift's innovative products and established reputation represent a great platform for growth, and I am eager to help the company accelerate its progress."
Swift's recent expansion of its Ann Arbor headquarters doubles the company's current research and development and manufacturing space. The new west coast office also offers important strategic advantages, including regional access to established and emerging hubs for NGS such as San Diego, Los Angeles, Seattle and the Pacific Rim. These new facilities, strategically positioned in two fast-growing life science hubs, will enable Swift to expand its capabilities, commercial partnerships, sales and technical support resources.
Swift will officially be in their Ann Arbor office space by July 2018 and will be hosting an open house for industry and community members.
About Swift Biosciences
Swift Biosciences is the NGS Library Prep company. Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the company develops novel library preparation solutions for emerging applications based on next-generation sequencing, including whole genome sequencing, targeted DNA sequencing, and epigenetic analysis.
Swift Biosciences' products are designed to help customers analyze challenging biological samples faster, easier, and with greater sensitivity and accuracy, while being compatible with leading instrumentation. Swift Biosciences is the first company to offer library preparation solutions on all three major sequencing platforms, including Pacific Biosciences®, Illumina® and Ion Torrent™.
The company opened its doors in February 2010, and its product development enables new applications in multiple industries, including agrigenomics, pharmaceutical, academic, biotechnology, and oncology research fields.
For more information, visit SwiftBioSci.com and follow Swift Biosciences on Twitter (@SwiftBioSci).
SOURCE Swift Biosciences
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