The Binding Site Appoints Charles de Rohan as Chief Executive Officer

BIRMINGHAM, England, December 8, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The Binding Site Corporation Limited ("Binding Site" or "the Company"), a privately-owned specialist U.K. diagnostics company, today announces the appointment of Charles de Rohan as Chief Executive Officer.

Charles de Rohan has worked in the diagnostic industry for more than 17 years and brings significant experience to the Company. He was previously CEO of London-quoted Genetix Group, a highly profitable and fast-growing cell imaging and analysis company with revenues exceeding $50m. By moving Genetix's strategic focus from products to customers, he broadened its offering through the introduction of new tools and processes and the identification of complementary acquisitions. In 2009 he successfully negotiated the takeover of Genetix by Danaher Corporation, where it forms part of Leica Microsystems.

Prior to joining Genetix, Charles spent 15 years at Abbott Laboratories' Diagnostic Division, where he held a number of senior commercial management positions in Europe and Asia Pacific. From November 2003 he was Divisional Vice President in Commercial Operations, managing various European operations. In December 2006 he established a new role as Divisional Vice President, Scientific Leadership and Global Accounts EMEA, where he was responsible for pursuing potential new business models for the core laboratory business as well as developing and executing a strategy to differentiate the company's offering through its science.

Charles began his career in 1984 at Ernst and Young, where he trained as a chartered accountant, working in a number of positions including forensic accounting, before moving into the management consultancy side of the business.

Prof. Jo Bradwell, the founder and Chairman of The Binding Site, said, "Charles brings a wealth of international and operational expertise and his experience in driving dynamic, high growth businesses will be invaluable as we meet the challenge of the next phase of our development. This is an exciting period for The Binding Site as our leading product Freelite(TM) continues to develop its international footprint and we continue to work on developing new products and entering new markets."

Charles de Rohan commented, "I am very impressed by the quality and ambition of the team at The Binding Site and the extraordinary achievements to date. Early detection is critical for improved treatment and diagnostics are becoming increasingly important to the pharmaceutical industry as they develop the next generation of therapeutics. The Binding Site has a strong and growing portfolio of products and I look forward to working with the team to further expand the prospects for the business."

About The Binding Site

Binding Site is a UK-based in vitro diagnostics company committed to the research, development, manufacture and distribution of immunodiagnostic serum protein assays. With extensive expertise in antibody specificity technology, Binding Site gives clinicians and laboratory staff tools to improve diagnosis and management of patients across a range of B-cell cancers and immune system disorders.

Binding Site market a wide range of products within the immunoassay sector with their main business being divided into two specific clinical areas:

B cell dyscrasias: Freelite(TM) is a unique and highly significant assay used for the diagnosis and monitoring of Multiple Myeloma, a cancer of cells in the bone marrow. Multiple Myeloma is the second most common blood cancer after non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Trials are underway looking at the use of Freelite in a range of other haematological malignancies, including applications in renal medicine.

Approximately 3.3 million pairs of Freelite tests are performed annually worldwide (as of August 2010), which was an increase of over 20% compared to the previous year.

Binding Site has recently launched (September - December 2010) a range of assays complementary to Freelite called Hevylite(TM). The combination of Freelite and Hevylite tests is expected to enable clinicians to gain valuable information about the type and stage of the disease as well as the efficacy of different treatment regimes. As well as developing these assays, Binding Site also markets the benchtop SPAplus Specialist Protein Analyser, optimised for running Freelite, Hevylite and other specialist serum protein assays.

Detection of Immunodeficiency: Binding Site is the market leader in the development of products for the investigation of a range of disorders involving immunodeficiency, including specialised products for the diagnosis of primary immunodeficiency diseases (PID). Primary immunodeficiencies are disorders where part of the immune system is missing or does not function properly, due to intrinsic or genetic defects in the immune system. Advances in the understanding and treatment of primary immunodeficiency diseases mean that individuals who in the past would not have survived beyond childhood are now able to live nearly normal lives.

    For more information please see HTTP://www.bindingsite.co.uk.

    For further information please contact:

    Financial Dynamics

    Jonathan Birt
    [email protected]
    +44-(0)20-7269-7205

    Stephanie Cuthbert
    [email protected]
    +44-(0)20-3077-0458

SOURCE The Binding Site