Genome express appoints
François Pons as new business development manager
Functional genomics
company will benefit from François Pons' pharma and biotech experience
in creating and managing scientific and industry collaborations
Grenoble, France, September 23, 2002 - GENOME express, the developer of
high value-added solutions for functional genomics, announces today the
appointment of François Pons as Director of Business Development.
Before taking up this
appointment with GENOME express, Pons acquired eight years' high-level
experience in the industry. He was Director of business development and
scientific communication at the Centre d'Immunologie Pierre Fabre, in
Saint Julien en Genevois, on the French side of the border between
France and Switzerland. At Pierre Fabre, Pons was closely involved in
the negotiation of a number of partnerships and licensing agreements, as
well as the setting up and management of research consortia in
immunotherapy for cancer and infectious diseases. He was also active in
managing investment projects. He originally joined Pierre Fabre as
biotechnology licensing manager after a period in strategic marketing
with Baxter Healthcare France. His academic qualifications include a
master's degree in biochemistry and microbiology (Marseille-Luminy), a
diploma in food biotechnology and industry (ENSAIA, Nancy, a French
school of agronomy and food industry), and a master's in industrial
engineering and management of technological innovation (École Centrale,
Paris).
François Pons comes to GENOME express during a period of intensive
development. He is responsible for relations with both industry and
research establishments and will develop collaborative and partnership
alliances with these bodies. His overall mission is to promote GENOME
express's integrated genomics and proteomics platform.
"GENOME express is at the stage where it needs to market its
know-how in a more targeted and personalized way," said Yves
Laurent, CEO of GENOME express. "François Pons brings the skills
and experience required for this new phase. He possesses a combination
of salesmanship, experience in negotiating and setting up contracts, and
understanding of the scientific and pharmaceutical industry
environments. This, together with his sheer enthusiasm, will make him
one of the key players in the success of GENOME express. We are truly
pleased to have him on board."
"I am looking forward to working with the GENOME express team in a
vital, fast-growing field," said François Pons. "The company
has demonstrated considerable quality throughout its existence and the
excellent team has made the right scientific and industry choices,
positioning itself in the functional genomics space. These are all good
reasons why I want to make my contribution to the company's future
success."
About GENOME express
GENOME express, Grenoble,
France, develops and markets high value-added solutions for functional
genomics. Its expertise covers a variety of disciplines including
microbiology (library manufacturing), molecular biology (high throughput
sequencing) and bioinformatics (proprietary software). Under development
are an integrated genomics and proteomics platform designed to enable
GENOME express to engage in proprietary target discovery. Siparex
Ventures was lead banker for the fund-raising with co-lead Sud Partners
(Sudinnova's fund management arm). Other investors were 3i, the original
institutional investor, the Compagnie Financière Edmond de Rothschild,
Aquasourça, SPEF Venture and Biotek Partenaires. Since the 12.4 million
euro financing round, the company has received a further million euro
grant from France's innovation agency, Anvar. GENOME express is one of
the four members of the Genostar consortium, a bioinformatics platform
for exploratory genomics that offers a unified way of representing
biological knowledge.
A photo of François Pons is available on demand from ALA
For further information
please contact:
Andrew Lloyd
Andrew Lloyd & Associates
Phone: +44-1273 675100
Fax: +44-1273 675400
--
Keren Perrott
ANDREW LLOYD & ASSOCIATES
Brighton Business Centre
95 Ditchling Road
Brighton BN1 4ST
United Kingdom
Tel: +44-1273 675100
Fax: +44-1273 675400
55 rue Boissonade
75014 Paris
France
Tel: +33-1 56 54 07 00
Fax: +33-1 56 54 07 01
email:
keren@ala.com
http://www.ala.com
