Rosetta Genomics Ltd, a leading developer of microRNA-based molecular diagnostics, has announced the appointment of Kenneth A. Berlin to the position of president and CEO, effective November 2, 2009.
Rosetta Genomics’ board of directors has recommended that Berlin also be appointed to serve on the Rosetta Genomics’ board of directors. This recommendation will be put to vote at the Company’s upcoming annual shareholders meeting.
Prior to his appointment as president and CEO of Rosetta Genomics, Berlin, 45, served as worldwide General Manager at cellular and molecular cancer diagnostics developer Veridex LLC a Johnson & Johnson company since July 2007. Under his leadership the organization grew to over 100 employees, and he spearheaded the launch of three cancer diagnostic products, the acquisition of its cellular diagnostics partner, and delivered significant growth in sales as Veridex transitioned from a research and development entity to a commercial provider of oncology diagnostic products and services.
During Berlin’s tenure, Veridex received numerous awards including recognition from the Cleveland Clinic and Prix Galien for the use of its innovative CellSearch® technology in the fight against cancer.
Berlin joined Johnson & Johnson in 1994 and served as corporate counsel for six years. He led and participated on the legal team that oversaw several mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and commercial transactions across Johnson & Johnson. He then held positions of increasing responsibility within Johnson & Johnson and a number of its subsidiary companies.
From 2001 until 2004 he served as VP, licensing and new business development in the pharmaceuticals group, and from 2004 until 2007 was worldwide VP, franchise development, Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics. He has been responsible for numerous licensing and/or research collaboration deals in metabolic disease, cardiovascular disease, oncology, CNS and women’s health, including the ex-U.S. license to Millennium Pharmaceutical’s VELCADE, a first-in-class, oncology therapeutic with reported sales outside the US in excess of $750 million in 2008.
“Ken is a proven business leader whose background, accomplishments and commercialization experience in the novel diagnostics space are particularly well-suited for Rosetta Genomics at this time,” said Yoav Chelouche, chairman of the board of directors. “We have commercialized three microRNA diagnostic tests and have licensed or formed distribution agreements with six separate parties on five continents for these tests. As we further develop the markets for our paraffin-based microRNA diagnostic tests, identify additional paraffin and body fluid-based tests to develop, and pursue avenues to leverage our platform technology, we expect that Rosetta will benefit from Ken’s strong leadership, negotiating and alliance management skills as well as his portfolio management experience. We are fortunate to welcome him to Rosetta Genomics.”
Commenting on his appointment, Berlin said, “MicroRNAs are among the most exciting opportunities in medicine today, as they hold breakthrough potential to diagnose and treat various conditions. I am impressed by the breadth of Rosetta’s intellectual property and the flexibility of its technology platform, and am very excited to lead this group of talented individuals as we continue to evolve the company’s business model from an R&D entity to a company with both world-class science and world-class commercial execution. I am an entrepreneur at heart, and I look forward to honing and executing our growth strategy and communicating our plans to the investment community by the end of the year.”
Berlin holds an AB degree from Princeton University and a JD from the University of California Los Angeles School of Law. He began his career as an attorney at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York. He has received several awards including the 2004 Pharmaceutical Achievement Award—Licensing Deal of the Year Finalist. He is a member of the board of directors of the Central and South Jersey Chapter of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Source: Rosetta Genomics
