Company creates U.S. subsidiary and adds Dr. Jeffrey Jeddeloh as VP of Business Development, Commercial Strategy, Dr. Stephen Macevicz as VP of IP and Dr. Christine Peponnet as VP of Technology Development.
PARIS and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov 8, 2018 – DNA Script, the global leader in the development of enzymatic DNA synthesis, today announced the creation of DNA Script Inc., its U.S. subsidiary. The company also announced the expansion of its executive team in the U.S. Dr. Jeffrey Jeddeloh was appointed VP of Business Development and Commercial Strategy to facilitate partnering and strategy implementation. Dr. Stephen Macevicz was named VP of Intellectual Property. The appointment of Dr. Christine Peponnet as VP of Technology Development will strengthen the company’s growing research and development organization.
“Last month, we announced a major technology milestone for the nascent field of enzymatic DNA synthesis: the world’s first synthesis of a 150-nucleotide (nt) strand of DNA using enzymes with up to 99.5 percent efficacy for each nucleotide added — achieving parity with traditional chemical synthesis,” said Thomas Ybert, CEO and cofounder of DNA Script. “In the last year, the company has increased secured financing to $27 million, was granted two patents, filed five new patent applications and grew its team to 35. This is only a beginning, as we intend to release the first commercial products to early adopters within 12 months. Given the importance of the U.S. market for DNA Script, crossing the ocean and structuring our executive team with industry veterans is absolutely key.”
Dr. Jeffrey Jeddeloh, 49, joins DNA Script as VP of Business Development and Commercial Strategy, bringing more than 20 years of experience commercializing technology and business leadership in the genomics and molecular biology tools space. He joined Roche after the NimbleGen Systems acquisition in 2007. Most recently, he served as Director of Business Development for Roche Molecular Solutions, where he lead six mergers and acquisitions for the emerging Sequencing Solutions business. Of particular note was his role in the Kapa Biosystems acquisition for Roche. Prior to joining Roche, Jeff spent six years at Orion Genomics, where he was both a technology developer and R&D director. He served in the U.S. Army as a Vaccine Development Officer at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in Frederick, Maryland. Jeff holds both a Ph.D. from Washington University, as well as an MBA from the University of Wisconsin and is also the co-author of over 50 peer reviewed publications in the field of epigenetics, genetics and genomics. Dr. Jeddeloh will report directly to the CEO.
“Having Jeff as a key executive will be very transformative for the company. He brings world-leading expertise in science as well as product strategy, business development and M&A. His hiring is the first step in building our commercial and marketing organizations. With Jeff’s help, we are planning our early commercialization efforts and first partnerships by the end of next year.” adds Ybert.
Dr. Macevicz, 69, joins DNA Script as VP of Intellectual Property, bringing more than 40 years of experience in the genomics and molecular biology tools space. Most recently, he served as VP of IP at Sequenta and Ion Torrent and as a senior IP attorney at Becton Dickinson. His practice has included critical interaction with business development and strategic planning functions at these institutions. Steve has himself been an inventor of 20 issued patents and has personally drafted over 150 issued U.S. patents for others in wide range of fields, including molecular biology, analytical instrumentation, organic chemistry, software and opto-electronics; he has also negotiated and drafted numerous license, research collaboration, supply and related commercial agreements. Dr. Macevicz holds a Ph.D. in Biophysics from UC Berkeley and a J.D. from the same university (Boalt Hall). He will report directly to the CEO.
“Stephen is one of the most experienced IP experts in the genomics and molecular biology fields. He has made major contributions to building key IP estates in the industry. His leadership will help us manage and expand our portfolio in order to strengthen it even further ahead of commercialization. We believe Stephen is the perfect match for us,” said Ybert.
Dr. Christine Peponnet, 54, joins DNA Script as VP of Technology Development, bringing more than 25 years of technology leadership in genomics and molecular biology. Most recently, she served as Head of the Biosystems Group at CEA – the Center for Atomic Energy – where she was one of driving forces behind the development of the EWOD microfluidic technology, licensed to Advanced Liquid Logic, later acquired by Illumina. Prior to CEA, Christine contributed to the development of SNP assays at Caliper Technologies. She also served as Head of the Genotyping R&D at Genset for 10 years. Dr. Peponnet will report to the CEO.
“Christine’s appointment to the executive team is a key milestone in scaling up the company and its leadership. Christine has had tremendous success in turning prototypes into production-ready technologies, and her experience working in the U.S. and in France with leading organizations is a strong asset for our research and development team,” said Ybert.
About DNA Script
Founded in 2014 in Paris, DNA Script is the world’s leading company in manufacturing de novo synthetic nucleic acids using an enzymatic technology. The company aims to accelerate innovation in life sciences and technology through rapid, affordable and high-quality DNA synthesis. DNA Script’s approach leverages billions of years of natural evolution to enable genome-scale synthesis. The company’s technology has the potential to greatly accelerate the development of new therapeutics, sustainable chemical production, improved crops and DNA data storage.
www.dnascript.co
Press contact in the US
Seismic
Eric Schubert
415-939-4366
eric@teamseismic.com
Press contacts in Europe
ALIZE RP
Caroline Carmagnol and Tatiana Vieira
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DNA Script Contact
Sylvain Gariel, COO
sg@dnascript.co