Functional genomics company will benefit from François Pons' pharma and biotech experience in creating and managing scientific and industry collaborationsGrenoble, 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&nbps;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.
Source: Genome Express
