Tuesday January 22 6:48 AM ET
Venter Steps Down as President of Celera
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Biotech earnings preview, analyst expects few surprises - (ON24)
NORWALK, Conn. (Reuters) - J. Craig Venter, the driving force behind the mapping of the human genome, has stepped down as president of Celera Genomics (news - web sites) Group (NYSE:CRA - news) to focus on the scientific aspects of its business, parent company Applera Corp. said on Tuesday. Venter, who faced criticism for turning in his lab coat for a business suit when he left the Institute for Genomic Research to help create Celera in 1998, will continue his affiliation with the company by chairing its Scientific Advisory Board.
Applera Chairman and Chief Executive Tony White will be president of Celera on a temporary basis while it seeks additional management. Applera owns a majority of Celera and related biotech company Applied Biosystems (NYSE:ABI - news).
``We are now at a critical juncture where my best contributions can be made in a scientific advisory role, allowing the rest of the organization to continue Celera's progress toward becoming a successful pharmaceutical business,'' Venter said in a statement.
Venter said he will spend more time in his role as chairman of the board of the Rockville, Maryland-based Institute for Genomic Research, an organization he helped start before co-founding Celera. Venter was president of the institute from 1992 to 1998.
From 1984 until 1992, Venter held various positions at the National Institutes of Health (news - web sites), including section chief and lab chief of its National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Venter and NIH director Dr. Francis Collins engaged in a high-profile competition over the race to map the human genome, with Venter's new computer-based method eventually proving quicker |
