Board formed to provide strategic leadership in pharmaceutical and medical device development
Boulder, CO – February 28, 2010 – Flagship Biosciences LLC announced today it has formed a Board of Directors to provide direction in pathologist-led services in pharmaceutical and medical devices. The members of the new board will be David Young, DVM, John Bloom DVM, Ph.D., Robert Kellar, Ph.D., and Steven Potts, Ph.D. MBA.
David Young, Director of Pathology at OSI Pharmaceuticals, develops tissue biomarkers and companion diagnostics in cancer therapeutics. Dr. Young is board certified by the American College of Veterinary Pathologists and the American Board of Toxicology and has 25-plus years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, US Government and toxicology testing laboratories. As Senior Vice President for Laboratory Services for Therimmune Research Corporation, he successfully established laboratory operations encompassing histopathology, clinical pathology, analytical chemistry, and immunology services.
John Bloom is an academically-trained clinical/toxicologic pathologist with expertise in three important areas of risk assessment: hematotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, and immunotoxicity/immunogenicity. Recently retired from Eli Lilly, Dr. Bloom provided over two decades of executive leadership in preclinical and clinical drug development. While at Lilly, he established a nationally recognized clinical biomarker unit, and is a recognized expert in the development of companion diagnostics in an R&D setting. Dr. Bloom was an architect behind Lilly’s strategy for diagnostic development and executive sponsor of the companion diagnostics corporate advisory group. He is a past President of the American Society of Veterinary Clinical Pathology.
Robert Kellar has 14 years of experience in the development and regulatory approval of medical devices, cell-based products, and tissue engineered technology. Dr. Kellar is VP of Research and Development at Protein Genomics, a protein polymer medical device company. Previously, Dr. Kellar was VP of Research and Development at Histogen Inc., where he led multi-functional project teams for all aspects of product development. At W.L.Gore and Associates, Dr. Kellar helped develop the first FDA-approved thoracic endograft and provided a lead role in development, regulatory, clinical trials, marketing, and sales for the thoracic device and product portfolio.
Steve Potts is Vice President of Life Sciences at Aperio Technologies, the leading digital pathology hardware and software company. His team has established Aperio as the worldwide technology standard for whole slide imaging in the pharmaceutical sector, with adoption by all of the largest pharmaceutical companies. He defined and led the GLP product development and validation services for the use of whole slide images in regulated preclinical and clinical trials studies, as well as the development of image analysis techniques for angiogenesis. Prior to Aperio, he was Head of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics at Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute, where his team supported the development of In Vitro Diagnostics Multi-Analyte Assays in oncology and other therapeutic areas.
“The formation of this Board is a key step in the growth of Flagship Biosciences,” commented David Young, President of Flagship Biosciences. “Our company was formed to meet an unmet need of pathologist-driven image analysis assay development. This team provides depth and strategic insight into the needs for companion diagnostics in pharmaceutical and medical device development. With the Board’s direction, Flagship is in an excellent position to leverage multiple partnerships among technology providers, large CROs, and pharmaceutical and medical device companies to ensure successful development and commercial transition of imaging biomarkers.”
Flagship Biosciences LLC is a pathologist-owned company focused on utilizing whole slide imaging for quantitative pathology in pharmaceutical and device applications.
