I've met Mark Adams. Young, bright, enthusiastic......
Thursday July 19, 12:39 pm Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: Variagenics, Inc.
Variagenics Announces Promotions and a New Hire
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Variagenics, Inc. (Nasdaq: VGNX -
news), a leader in pharmacogenomics, the science that correlates individual genetic variation
with drug response, today announced the promotion and hiring of several employees.
Edward E. Koval, previously Senior Director, Business Development, has been promoted to
Vice President, Corporate & Strategic Development and R. Mark Adams, Ph.D., has been
promoted from Senior Director to Vice President, Bioinformatics. In addition, the Company
has hired James E. Aswell, Ph.D., as Senior Director, Diagnostics, a newly created position.
Edward E. Koval joined Variagenics in February 2000, serving as Senior Director, Business
Development. Prior to joining Variagenics, Mr. Koval was an independent business
development consultant providing services to, among others, Chiron Corporation and
Pharmacopeia Inc. Previously, as Director of Corporate Development at Chiron
Corporation, he was instrumental in creating and executing strategies related to partnering,
acquisition and joint venture plans. From 1992 to 1995, Mr. Koval held a series of positions
at Merck & Co., including Director of Corporate Planning and Development. Mr. Koval
received his M.B.A. from the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management, an M.S. from the
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a B.S. from Polytechnic University.
R. Mark Adams, Ph.D., has served as Variagenics' Senior Director, Bioinformatics for the
past three years. Before joining Variagenics, Dr. Adams served as Director of Bioinformatics
at AlphaGene, Inc. where he designed and implemented a system for the automated
processing and analysis of full-length cDNA sequence information. Dr. Adams' academic
work is principally in the area of computational analysis of multiple-domain proteins and the
prediction of protein domain structure and function. He spent his postdoctoral fellowship with
Dr. Temple Smith at the Boston University BioMolecular Engineering Research Center.
During that time, he served as a consultant to Incyte Pharmaceuticals, Inc. where he was
instrumental in the development of the Company's bioinformatics. Dr. Adams is an editor of
Briefings in Bioinformatics and has co-authored 14 published scientific papers. He is an
author of several bioinformatics programs including DashPat and MultiDom. Dr. Adams
received his Ph.D. in Cell Biology from Baylor College of Medicine and holds an A.B. from
Oberlin College.
James E. Aswell, Ph. D. brings to Variagenics over 20 years of experience in clinical diagnostics, biotechnology and scientific
management. Prior to joining Variagenics, Dr. Aswell worked for 10 years at Bayer Diagnostics where he served as Senior
Project Manager, and as a Senior Staff Scientist. Before joining Bayer in 1991, he worked as a Research Manager at
GeneTrak Systems and Serono Diagnostics. Dr. Aswell received his Ph.D. in Microbiology and Biochemistry from the
University of Mississippi Medical Center, and holds a B.S. from Southeastern Louisiana University.
Variagenics, Inc. applies its pharmacogenomic technologies to the discovery, development and commercialization of
individualized drugs and companion molecular diagnostic products. The Company identifies clinically important genetic
variations, including single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), the most common form of genetic variability, and haplotypes
(groups of SNPs), and uses this information to improve and enhance drugs in development and to identify and validate new
drug targets. Variagenics is leveraging its expertise and technologies, including its new NuCleave(TM) genotyping and
haplotyping analysis platform, into solutions for pharmaceutical companies seeking to optimize therapeutic outcomes for
patients.
For more information please visit the Company's website at variagenics.com
This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the effect of pharmacogenomics on
therapeutic outcomes and the delivery of healthcare and the role that the Company will play in the field of pharmacogenomics.
Such statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to certain factors, risks and uncertainties that
may cause actual results, events and performance to differ materially from those referred to or implied in such statements. These
risks are identified in Variagenics' Registration Statement on Form S-1, Registration No. 333- 33558, filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission and declared effective on July 20, 2000, and Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year
ended December 31, 2000. The Company does not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of
this release to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in our expectations, except as required by law.
SOURCE: Variagenics, Inc. |
