Craig Venter has been named to Ionian Technologies’ board of directors, the company said last week.
Venter, the former founder of Celera Genomics, currently heads three non-profits that he founded: The Center for the Advancement of Genomics; the Institute for Biological Energy Alternatives; and the Craig Venter Science Foundation. He is also founder and chairman of The Institute for Genomic Research, based in Rockville, Md.
Ionian Technologies, which is privately held and located in Upland, Calif., develops molecular diagnostics tools using isothermal DNA and RNA amplification. It was founded by David Galas and Jeffrey Van Ness as a spin-off of the Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences in Claremont, Calif.
CytRx has named as directors Marvin Selter and Richard Wennekamp. The two replace Raymond Carnahan and Herbert McDade, who last week retired as directors. CytRx’s board remains at seven members.
Selter, who is currently president of national management-consulting firm CMS, serves on the boards of the UCLA Medical Center, San Fernando Economic Alliance, Valley Economic Development Center, and the California State University-Northridge Economic Development Center. He is also a member of the California Small Business Board, the California Budget Advisory Task Force, the City of Los Angeles Business Tax Advisory Committee, and the City of Los Angeles/Office of Finance Board of Review.
Wennekamp, meantime, is senior vice president-credit administration at Community Bank, in Pasadena, Calif. He was also special assistant to former President Gerald Ford, according to CytRx.