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NEWS:
Visible Genetics Inc. Builds HIV Marketing Team
PR Newswire - May 27, 1999 07:15
TORONTO, May 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Visible Genetics Inc. (VGI) (Nasdaq: VGIN) today announced the addition of four highly experienced executives, each with the ability to rapidly contribute to the Company's growth.
"We have created a focused, professional and experienced sales and marketing team to orchestrate the launch of our HIV products," said John K. Stevens, Chairman and CEO of Visible Genetics Inc. "Our first TruGene(TM) HIV kits are now in use for our U.S.-based clinical trials. This newly assembled team has the ability to market our clinical and diagnostic products to both providers and payors, and effectively communicate to laboratorians, physicians and patients the benefits of our state-of-the-art drug resistance testing," he added.
Steven A. Owings joins VGI as Director, HIV North American Business. A graduate of North Arizona University (BS, 1974), prior to holding the positions of Vice President, Sales and Marketing at ATCC, American Type Culture Collection and Digene Corporation, Steve was a 20-year veteran of Roche Diagnostic Systems, Inc. (RDS).
Steve was promoted numerous times during his career at Roche, including to positions as Division Product Manager and Regional Sales Manager, and awarded the company's prestigious "President's Achievement Award" for outstanding sales accomplishments seven times.
Perhaps Steve's greatest accomplishment while at Roche was while serving as Director of the PCR Business Unit, U.S., from 1992 to 1997. He was instrumental in helping RDS bring PCR, a powerful new molecular diagnostics technology, from the research laboratory to routine use by commercial laboratories on a nationwide basis. Through innovative marketing efforts, such as the creation and implementation of third-party reimbursement strategies and patient assistance programs, Steve also helped the company successfully launch its first FDA-approved PCR test for Chlamydia trachomatis in 1993 and Roche's AMPLICOR HIV-1 MONITOR(TM) Test in 1996, the first FDA-approved test to measure the amount of HIV-1 virus in an HIV/AIDS patient's blood.
Paula L. Evangelista, another former Roche employee, now assumes the position at VGI as Director of Public Relations. Paula has more than 20 years of expertise in the public affairs/public policy and communications arena, with almost 13 years of that experience from Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. (HLR) and Roche Molecular Systems, Inc. (RMS). She was Director of Public Affairs for HLR where she managed product communications programs, including product launches, third-party coalition building efforts and crisis management, for seven years for the company's pharmaceutical products.
Paula then established a Public Affairs function for Roche's diagnostics businesses. During her association with RMS, she was instrumental in furthering the company's relationships with patient advocate groups, including those within the AIDS community, and helped to create and implement global marketing communications campaigns for all of RMS' PCR products. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University (BA, 1977), Paula has been included in "Who's Who In America" and "Who's Who In American Women" for the last several years.
Also joining VGI is David S. Gibbons, Director of Product Management for HCV, HBV, p53, HLA, HPV, TB and other related products and instrumentation. Dave's expertise is in marketing and business development, with particular emphasis in the area of in vitro molecular diagnostics. For the past six years, he has worked as Senior Marketing Manager at Becton Dickinson Microbiology Systems and was responsible for worldwide marketing of molecular clinical instruments for in vitro diagnostics in the field of infectious diseases, as well as the development and implementation of an out-licensing strategy for BD's proprietary amplification technology. He also pioneered the company's efforts with the pharmaceutical industry to identify emerging diagnostic opportunities in infectious diseases.
While at the Olympus Corporation in their Clinical Instruments Division, 1986-1993, Dave managed a joint venture with a Swiss manufacturer, DIAMED AG, to develop and manufacture a blood transfusion product line created in Europe. He also had oversight for personnel involved with blood typing and infectious disease screening for the commercial donor market in North and South America. Earlier on at Olympus, he was the Product Manager for a fully automated immunoassay analyzer and a research immunochemical business.
Dave has a Masters in Science in Health Sciences from Long Island University, C.W. Post College (1981) and a BS from Purdue University (1977).
Christopher D. Holtzer also joins VGI as Scientific and Medical Manager. In conjunction with Dean Winslow, M.D., Medical Director, Chris will focus on clinical trials and VGI protocols. Chris has his Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of California, San Francisco (1995) and a BS in Biochemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles (1990). For the past three years, he has worked as a Clinical Pharmacist and as an Assistant Clinical Professor for the University of California, San Francisco AIDS Program/Medical Oncology Department at San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH). Chris has also been involved with the AIDS Clinical Trial Group (ACTG) and Community Program for Clinical Research on AIDS (CPCRA) at SFGH.
A member of several pharmaceutical company advisory boards for their protease inhibitors, Chris is the author of numerous peer-reviewed articles, posters and abstracts regarding antiretroviral therapy, clinical outcomes in HIV patients and related patient opportunistic infections. He is a distinguished lecturer and has served as Principal Investigator for several important research projects.
Visible Genetics Inc. manufactures and markets high performance automated DNA sequencing systems and complete kits for the analysis of genes linked to disease. The Company's OpenGene(TM) system employs proprietary stratified DNA testing and single-tube, single-step sequencing methods to significantly reduce the time and cost involved in identifying clinically relevant genetic information. VGI is a leader in the emerging field of pharmacogenomics, which will use genetic information in the identification, and analysis of genes in order to improve patient care and reduce healthcare costs.
SOURCE Visible Genetics Inc.
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