Knome Joins Illumina Genome Network, Adds Managerial Depth
April 3, 2012 | Knome, the human genome interpretation company, made a series of announcements today, including its selection as a partner in the Illumina Genome Network (IGN) and a number of managerial appointments.
“Knome’s software tools and services -- knomeBASE and knomeDISCOVERY -- are well positioned to help address the needs of Illumina’s customers,” said Scott Kahn, Illumina’s chief information officer. “IGN will provide fully processed and summarized genomic information from its whole genome and cancer analysis services directly to Knome, which will use the data to deliver subsequent interpretations. These reports include comprehensive annotation and interactive analyses that are very attractive to users with little or no in-house bioinformatics expertise, and to those who want to perform multi-sample analysis.”
IGN customers will receive preferential pricing for Knome’s software tools and services. The two companies will also continue to integrate their data pipelines to help customers speed up processing times.
Knome VP of business development, Ari Kiirikki, noted that the two companies have collaborated before, notably during a recent asthma study on 1,000 genomes with researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “We look forward to working together to proactively identify researchers, drug developers, and clinics with interpretation bottlenecks in order to deliver a seamless end-to-end solution,” said Kiirikki.
Knome also announced the arrival of three new executives as well as the appointment of Hugh Rienhoff Jr. to the company’s scientific advisory board.
The new appointments are Charles Abdalian as chief financial officer, Adam Rosenberg as senior VP and head of corporate development, and Jay Therrien as senior VP and head of global sales. The three hires would help Knome “capitalize on expanding commercial opportunities,” said Knome CEO Martin Tolar.
Abdalian was formerly CFO of Molecular Insight Pharmaceutical and directed the initial public offering at Coley Pharmaceutical Group. Rosenberg will handle all transactional aspects of the company as well as Knome’s intellectual property strategy. He helped launch Faber Daeufer & Rosenberg, a boutique business law firm representing investors, companies, and research institutes in the life sciences.
Therrien has previously managed sales operations for Life Technologies, including SOLiD, and Ion Torrent sequencing platforms, as well as Illumina,where he led sales in the Asia Pacific region. “This is an amazing time to join Knome,” Therrien said. “As the cost of sequencing rapidly declines, the next big commercial opportunity will be helping researchers and clinics manage and interpret the abundance of data being generated. I look forward to expanding the sales of Knome’s interpretation products to new markets and new geographies.”
Tolar also welcomed Hugh Rienhoff, Jr., to Knome’s scientific advisory board. Rienhoff, who has frequently collaborated with Knome in the delivery and interpretation of personal genome sequencing data. He is the CEO of FerroKin Biosciences, a biotechnology firm specializing in the treatment of rare genetic disorders. He is the founder of the nonprofit organization MyDaughtersDNA.org, a community focused on aiding those with challenging genetic conditions.
“Knome brings together the team, technology, and application focus needed to bring genomics into the practice of medicine—and ultimately the lives of patients. This is a pivotal time for Knome: rendering genomic data manageable and actionable to a broad array of users will drive Knome’s ultimate success in addressing the dynamic needs of key markets,” Rienhoff said.
Other members of Knome’s scientific advisory board include George Church (co-founder/chairman), bioinformatician Lincoln Stein (Ontario Institute for Cancer Research), geneticist David Goldstein (Duke University), the Whitehead Institute’s Yaniv Erlich and microbiologist Anthony Sinskey (MIT).