NanoString Technologies announced the passing of J. Wayne Cowens, who had served as the firm's chief medical officer since 2011. He was 67 years old.
While NanoString searches for a new chief medical officer, the firm has put together a team to handle medical affairs, as well as support regulatory and product development efforts. As such, "the company does not believe Cowens' death will have any material impact on timing and execution of its ongoing product development initiatives, regulatory submissions, or efforts to gain reimbursement and treatment guideline inclusion for the Prosigna Breast Cancer Assay," NanoString said.
Before coming to NanoString, Cowens held senior positions at Genomic Health, Chiron (now Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics), and Ribozyme Pharmaceuticals.
Sanford Burnham Medical Research Institute has named Perry Nisen as its CEO and as holder of the Donald Bren Chief Executive Chair. Nisen joins Sanford Burnham from GlaxoSmithKline, where he was senior VP of science and innovation.