Sequenom Taps Aurora Co-founder Harry Stylli as New CEO

NEW YORK, June 1 (GenomeWeb News) - Sequenom has named Harry Stylli CEO and president, the company said today.

He comes to the San Diego-based firm from protein therapeutics firm Xencor of Monrovia, Calif., where he was president and CEO, and where he will remain a director. Sequenom has been without a full-time chief since February, when Toni Schuh resigned. Stylli takes over from Steve Zaniboni, who led Sequenom on an interim basis.

Prior to Xencor, he was president, CEO, and a co-founder of therapeutic antibody maker CovX Pharmaceuticals.

Stylli also co-founded Aurora Biosciences in 1995, where he was senior vice president of screening technology and new ventures, and later senior vice president of commercial development. In 2001, when Aurorawas acquired by Vertex Pharmaceuticals, he became president of Aurora and Panvera, another subsidiary of Vertex.

As part of his employment package at Sequenom, Stylli received stock options for 1 million shares of common stock.

Stylli holds a PhD from LondonUniversity's faculty of medicine, an MBA from the Open University in the UK, and a bachelor's of science degree from the Universityof East London.