CINCINNATI, Feb. 1, 2011 – AssureRx Health, Inc. today announced the appointments of two senior executives in key roles to drive company growth. Donald R. Wright, Jr. has been appointed as executive vice president & chief operating officer and John A. Bellano as senior vice president, sales & commercial programs.
Wright has been instrumental in leading the development of AssureRx’s pharmacogenetic test, GeneSightRx®, and the blueprint of products the company expects to develop over the next two to three years. In his new position, Wright will play a fundamental role in leading AssureRx’s future product offerings, operations, and external relationships and he will continue managing software product development, overseeing information technology and molecular genetics laboratory operations, as well as customer support, field sales support, quality assurance, and human resources. Wright brings over 20 years of software product development and operations expertise, including Attachmate where he led a 700 member software team and the creation and support of a $450 million software product line. Wright also served as chief technology officer and chief information officer in various software companies and has participated in more than 25 successful product launches.
Bellano is joining AssureRx as a key member of the executive team, leading the company’s sales efforts to increase adoption of GeneSightRx, launching new products in development, and leading the company’s efforts with Diamond Healthcare and other strategic partners. Bellano also brings 20 years of experience to AssureRx, most recently as senior vice president, commercial operations for GenMark, a molecular diagnostics company, and as vice president, sales for Hologic Inc., a developer and manufacturer of women’s health care products and systems. Prior to Hologic, Bellano served as vice president, sales for Third Wave, a provider of DNA and RNA products for the clinical and research markets, where he played a key role in building market adoption that led to Third Wave’s acquisition by Hologic. Prior to Third Wave, John held various molecular diagnostic sales positions with Roche Diagnostics, Sanofi Diagnostics Pasteur, Abbott Laboratories and Forest Laboratories.
“Our goal is to build the leading medical informatics company providing pharmacogenetic and other clinical decision support products to help physicians individualize the treatment of patients with neuropsychiatric and other disorders,” said James S. Burns, president & CEO of AssureRx. “Strengthening the leadership team is an important step for AssureRx this year as we build sales momentum and launch our second product. Don and John have the leadership skills and experience to meet our customers’ needs for treatment support products that can help improve patient care at substantially reduced costs.”
About AssureRx Health, Inc.
AssureRx Health, Inc. is a personalized medicine company that specializes in pharmacogenomics dedicated to helping physicians determine the right drug for individual patients suffering from neuropsychiatric and other disorders. The company was founded to commercialize industry-leading personalized medicine technology for neuropsychiatric disorders. Mayo Clinic and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center are equity holders and technology collaborators.
About GeneSight
GeneSight is a laboratory developed pharmacogenomic test that uses cutting edge technology to measure and analyze clinically important genomic variants in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. The results of the GeneSight report can help a clinician understand the way a patient’s unique genomic makeup may affect certain psychiatric drugs. The analysis is based on pharmacogenomics, the study of genomic factors that influence an individual’s response to drug treatments, FDA approved manufacturer’s drug labels, peer-reviewed scientific and clinical publications, and proven drug pharmacology. Quick turnaround time, combined with a customized report of the patient’s genomic makeup, clinical experience and other factors can help a physician make personalized drug treatment choices for each patient.