SEATTLE, Washington, Nov. 14, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SEngine Precision Medicine, an oncology pioneer accelerating cancer drug discovery through its proprietary diagnostic platform known as The PARIS Test®, today announced Dr. Astrid Margossian as Chief Medical Officer. Beyond advancing SEngine’s go-to-market strategy, as Chief Medical Officer Margossian will leverage her well-established health care network to build partnerships which grow the impact and scale of SEngine’s platform technology.
Margossian delivers 25 years of experience as a breast cancer surgeon in oncology practice management and in clinical trial development. Margossian was trained at the University of Southern California (USC) Breast Center in advanced surgical practices. She established a state-of-the-art blood and tissue bank at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and Buenos Aires, Argentina which focuses on biomarker discovery for breast cancer. Her career as a surgical oncologist began in Argentina and spanned more than three decades, with time spent pursuing significant professional opportunities in the United States, before joining SEngine Precision Medicine.
“Astrid is a champion for advancing SEngine’s mission to shape the future of cancer care with her tireless advocacy and influential global network,” said Dr. Carla Grandori, SEngine founder and CEO. “We feel fortunate to have attracted such an extraordinary surgeon and medical oncologist. Dr. Margossian brings deep knowledge of genomic biomarkers and was among the pioneers who identified molecular features for the prognosis and treatment of cancer. Her commendable experience led her to SEngine, joining our leadership team, as we begin to scale our diagnostic and drug discovery platform.”
Margossian entered into preeminence as a surgeon, medical oncologist, and cancer researcher. Her seminal papers have advanced the field of biomarkers discovery in breast cancer. She implemented these advances in her own practice, having founded and directed the first interdisciplinary breast cancer clinic in Buenos Aires. In addition to being a recognized breast cancer luminary, she has been a highly sought after speaker and educator advocating for technological advances that improve cancer treatment outcomes. She has contributed to more than 100 news stories predominately in South America related to technology advances in the treatment of cancer.
“SEngine’s 3D tumor organoid technology offers the real promise to deliver cancer patients, care providers, and pharmaceutical companies a platform that quickly matches the most effective treatment to an individual’s unique cancer,” Margossian remarked about the announcement. “The science underpinning SEngine’s technology is undeniable, now the task before us is to increase access through smart, steady, and sustained growth.”
With her hiring, SEngine Precision Medicine achieves a gender-diversity milestone, becoming the only Washington State biotech with both a female CEO and female CMO both earning MDs and PhDs.
SEngine Precision Medicine recently raised a Series A Funding round for more than $5MM and announced a strategic joint venture with Atomwise to accelerate novel drug discovery through AI technology and living tumor organoids.
SEngine has the first and only lab in the United States to earn Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) certification for a high-throughput, high-complexity test for all solid tumors. The CLIA certification enables oncologists to utilize the results of the test to inform patient treatment decisions.
ABOUT SENGINE PRECISION MEDICINE: Founded in 2015, SEngine Precision Medicine is a privately-held biotech startup based in Seattle, WA identifying and developing the next generation of targeted cancer drugs. Discover more at SengineMedicine.com and follow the latest news from SEngine on Twitter at @SEngineMedicine and on LinkedIn.
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