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Agendia Opens CLIA-Registered U.S. Genomics Laboratory

Posted on: Tuesday, 26 May 2009, 07:00 CDT

HUNTINGTON BEACH, California and AMSTERDAM, May 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Agendia, a world leader in molecular cancer diagnostics, today announced the opening of its U.S. clinical genomics laboratory in Huntington Beach, CA. The laboratory is fully-licensed and compliant with the Clinical Laboratory Improvements Amendments (CLIA) as administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

In addition to opening its U.S. cancer genomics laboratory, Agendia has over the past months made several key additions to its domestic-based senior executive team. The team consists of Dr. Richard Bender, Chief Medical Officer, Mr. Daniel Forche, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Mr. Alan B. Carter, Vice President of Global Business Development, and pathologist Dr. Chynel Henning, Laboratory Director.

"Our new genomics lab's capacity will allow us to meet the increasing demand for MammaPrint across the United States and give physicians and patients optimal test result turnaround and unmatched service and support," noted Jan Groen, Ph.D., Chief Operating Officer. "This expansion places us in an excellent position to continue making advancements in molecular cancer diagnostics and equip oncologists with powerful tools to use in the fight against breast cancer."

Dr. Bernhard Sixt, President and Chief Executive Officer, added, "the opening of the Huntington Beach laboratory and the appointment of our U.S.-based commercial team provide a strong basis for our U.S. operations and for Agendia's next phase of growth. Our enhanced domestic capabilities will help us to further drive adoption of MammaPrint, and place us in an even better position to collaborate with a growing number of clinical, academic, and industrial partners here in the U.S."

Dr. Bender has more than 30 years of medical and professional experience as a practicing oncologist and director of several oncology programs. Dr. Bender has served as Medical Director of the Hematology/Oncology Program at Quest Diagnostics, Director of Medical Oncology and Hematology at Kaiser Permanente Medical Group, Director of Strategic Development in Medical Oncology/Hematology at Johnson & Johnson, and as an investigator at the National Cancer Institute and Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation. Currently, Dr. Bender serves as an expert reviewer in oncology for the Medical Board of California, co-Editor of Anti-Cancer Drugs, an international journal on anti-cancer agents, and as a clinical instructor in medicine at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine.

Mr. Forche brings more than 18 years of sales, marketing and commercial leadership experience in the diagnostics arena. Prior to joining Agendia, Mr. Forche was the Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Insight Health Corporation, a national leader in diagnostic imaging services. He also served as Vice President of Marketing at US LABS, an industry leader in cancer diagnostic and genomic testing services, and has held sales and marketing management roles at Ventana Medical Systems (now Roche) and Abbott Laboratories.

Mr. Carter joins Agendia with 25 years of global business development experience from a number of top-tier life sciences companies such as BioTrove, Celera, Applied Biosystems, and Perkin Elmer. At Agendia, he oversees ongoing strategic alliances within the bio-pharmaceutical sector and collaboration with partners interested in Agendia's expanding molecular diagnostics portfolio.

Chynel Henning, M.D., Ph.D., FASCP, FCAP, joins Agendia with more than 30 years of experience as a laboratory director. He is currently also Director of National Cyto-Path Laboratories and Professional Pathology Medical Group Laboratory, both in Long Beach, California; and Director of the Laboratory and Department of Pathology at the Miracle Mile Medical Center, Los Angeles. Dr. Henning is a Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists and the College of American Pathologists.

Ongoing research and development commitments continue to augment Agendia's ability to accurately predict breast cancer recurrence and sub-typing, and help physicians tailor individual treatment plans to their patients. Agendia's goal is to provide women with answers to crucial treatment questions, such as how their breast cancer will respond to targeted therapies or various chemotherapy regimens.

For more information, please visit http://www.agendia.com

About Agendia

Agendia is at the forefront of the personalized medicine revolution, striving to bring more effective, individualized treatment within reach of patients. Building on a cutting edge genomics platform for tumor gene expression profiling, the company's tests aim to help physicians more accurately tailor cancer therapy. The company markets four products, with several new genomic tests in development. Agendia collaborates with pharmaceutical companies in the development of highly effective personalized drugs in the area of oncology. Agendia was awarded the 2008 North American Oncology Clinical Diagnostics Healthcare Innovation Award by Frost & Sullivan. Agendia is based in Huntington Beach, California, and in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. For more information please visit http://www.agendia.com.

SOURCE Agendia B.V.

Source: PR Newswire

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