IDbyDNA Appoints Next-Gen Sequencing Executive Neil Gunn as New CEO


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The need for rapid identification of the cause of infectious disease at the genetic level has never been more apparent than it is today.

Infectious disease continues to be a leading cause of illness, morbidity and mortality around the world. In the fight to better understand all pathogens, including the SARS-CoV-2 lineage and its mutations, IDbyDNA, the pioneer in precision metagenomics, is focused on broadening availability for its Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) targeted products. With that, the company has appointed NGS leader Neil Gunn as its new CEO to drive the next phase of growth.

As a proven leader in biotech, Gunn joins IDbyDNA after 12 years at Roche Diagnostics, where he led the launches of well over one hundred other products. He is also responsible for building Roche’s sequencing business, demonstrating above market performance and growing the team by more than 500 percent. Previously, Gunn spent eight years at Chiron Blood Testing, where he introduced the first molecular tests for blood screening (HIV and HCV) that are now standard practice around the world.

“Having spent the last 12 years growing the PCR and sequencing businesses at Roche, I’m excited by the tremendous potential IDbyDNA’s platform has to transform the diagnostic approach to infectious disease,” said Gunn. “The need for rapid identification of the cause of infectious disease at the genetic level has never been more apparent than it is today. The increasing impact of microbial resistance, the number of antimicrobial markers and ever evolving strains of viruses make diagnosis more challenging than it has ever been, and IDbyDNA’s products will be a key component for helping clinicians diagnose and treat complex and potentially life-threatening infectious diseases. I’m thrilled to be part of this exceptional team.”

IDbyDNA Co-Founder Dr. Guochun Liao will serve as President and Chairman of the Board and will focus on continuing to innovate the company’s platform as its Chief Innovation Officer.

“Neil shares our vision for the power of precision metagenomics and brings a deep understanding of the marketplace,” said Liao. “He knows the value that the right culture brings to an organization and has a track record of building great teams and scaling disruptive startup companies. Neil comes with a huge amount of business and commercial experience, but also with a great scientific mind – he is truly a one-of-a-kind leader in our industry and a powerful addition to IDbyDNA.”

Before joining Roche Diagnostics, Gunn led Commercial Operations, Americas, and Global Marketing for Chiron Blood Screening (A Novartis Company), and has dedicated his career to developing and commercializing innovative products that can have a positive impact on healthcare.

“Neil brings the strategic oversight and long-term vision that will enable IDbyDNA to continue to expand the use of our groundbreaking metagenomics-based platform,” added Stuart Peterson, IDbyDNA board member and founder and managing partner at ARTIS Ventures. “The addition of someone of Neil’s caliber validates our approach and growth potential – and he joins at a critical time. We look forward to him leading the team to drive positive change in the detection of infectious disease.”

To learn more about IDbyDNA and how the Explify Platform is helping infectious disease experts around the world, visit https://www.idbydna.com/.

About the IDbyDNA Explify Platform

IDbyDNA Explify Platform provides hands-off, AI-powered automated improved pathogen detection, genomic profiling, and quantification of tens of thousands of pathogens plus identification of thousands of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) markers from a wide range of biological and environmental materials using NGS data. Recently, IDbyDNA has entered into global partnerships with Illumina to commercialize an NGS test for SARS-CoV-2 and 280+ other respiratory pathogens and 1200+ AMR markers and with CareDx to develop NGS-based infectious disease testing specific to transplant patients.

About IDbyDNA

IDbyDNA is driving a paradigm shift in infectious disease testing by democratizing the power of genomics to improve health and decode the unknown. Explify data analytics enable laboratories to detect and profile tens of thousands of microorganisms from any specimen in a scalable, intuitive way at genomic-level resolution. Our industry-leading expertise in microbial genomics delivers comprehensive, actionable infectious disease testing and pathogen surveillance. For more information, visit http://www.idbydna.com.

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