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People in the News: Adam Simpson. Herbert Boyer, and Andrew von Eschenbach

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Cypher Genomics has appointed Adam Simpson as president and chief operating officer.

Prior to his appointment at Cypher, Simpson was an executive advisor to a number of life science investors and companies including Cypher Genomics. Before that, he was co-founder and chief business officer of Meritage Pharma. He also served as the general counsel at Verus Pharmaceuticals and previously was an attorney at Latham and Watkins.

Simpson holds a BS in biochemistry and cell biology from the University of California, San Diego and received a JD from the University of Minnesota Law School.

Cypher has also added new members to its Board of Directors.

Henry Nordhoff has been tapped to serve as the executive chairman of the board directors. Nordhoff directed Gen-Probe for 15 years as president and CEO and served as chairman of Gen-Probe's board of directors. In addition to Gen-Probe, he served as CEO of three biopharmaceutical companies.

Cypher has also appointed Herbert Boyer and Andrew von Eschenbach as directors.

Boyer is one of the co-founders of Genentech. He served as a director of the company until its 2008 acquisition by Roche. He was also a one-time vice president of the company. Von Eschenbach currently serves as president of Samaritan Health Initiatives and as an adjunct professor at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He is also a one-time commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration. Prior to joining the FDA, von Eschenbach served as the director of the National Cancer Institute.

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