CardioDx Announces New Leadership Appointments

PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwired - Apr 28, 2014) - CardioDx, Inc., a molecular diagnostics company specializing in cardiovascular genomics, announced today that diagnostics industry veterans Melinda Griffith, J.D., and Doug Ross, M.D., Ph.D., have joined the executive team as Head of Corporate Development and General Counsel, and Chief Scientific Officer, respectively. In addition, the company has announced the appointment of James Tobin and Andrew Guggenhime to the Board of Directors. Andrew Guggenhime will be transitioning from his role as Chief Financial Officer of CardioDx to this new position.

"Today's announcements reflect an exciting time in our company's history, and we are very pleased to welcome these experienced industry leaders to their new roles," said David Levison, President and Chief Executive Officer of CardioDx. "Melinda and Doug together bring a wealth of knowledge, years of industry experience, and strong relationships in molecular diagnostics that will help us drive business development and portfolio strategies as we expand patient access to our products in U.S. and international markets. James and Andrew will further cement our strong board foundation to help guide the company's long-term vision and establish CardioDx as a leader in cardiovascular genomic medicine."

Melinda Griffith, J.D., Named Head of Corporate Development and General Counsel

Prior to joining CardioDx, Ms. Griffith served in multiple executive management positions at Clarient, Inc., a leading oncology molecular diagnostics company that was acquired by GE Healthcare, including Senior Vice President, Business Development & Product Strategy, and General Counsel and Secretary. She was formerly Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and General Counsel of Tethys Bioscience. Before Tethys Bioscience, Ms. Griffith was Senior Vice President of Licensing and Law at Roche Molecular Diagnostics and held senior corporate counsel roles at Genelabs Technologies, Inc., Axys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Cetus Corporation. She holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley, and a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

Doug Ross, M.D., Ph.D., Named Chief Scientific Officer

Most recently, Dr. Ross was an independent consultant serving as Acting Chief Scientific Officer of the Medical Science division of Life Technologies Corporation, helping guide research and development as well as strategic partnerships initiatives. He was formerly Chief Scientific Officer of Clarient, Inc. Dr. Ross joined Clarient with the merger and acquisition of Applied Genomics, Inc., a company he co-founded in 2000 and where he served as Chief Scientific Officer. After obtaining his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees in Pathology from the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Dr. Ross went on to become Chief Resident of Laboratory Medicine at the University of California at San Francisco and a post-doctoral fellow at Stanford University working on genomics-based classification of cancer.

James Tobin and Andrew Guggenhime Appointed Members of Board of Directors

"The demand for diagnostic tools that help guide precise, individualized care has never been greater," said James Tobin. "Based on the quality and growing body of clinical evidence generated to date demonstrating the clinical validity and utility of Corus CAD, CardioDx is well positioned to capitalize and deliver on the growing need by providers and payers to provide high-quality, efficient, and cost-effective healthcare to patients." 

With more than 40 years of healthcare industry experience, Mr. Tobin previously served as CEO and President of Boston Scientific Corporation. Prior to Boston Scientific, he was President of Biogen, Inc. (now Biogen Idec) and Baxter International, Inc. Currently, he serves on the Board of Directors of Curis, Inc., and several other private companies. Mr. Tobin received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. from Harvard College.

Additionally, Andrew Guggenhime, who is transitioning from his role as Chief Financial Officer of CardioDx, has been appointed to the Board of Directors. Mr. Guggenhime brings strong leadership, management, business, and financial expertise from the life sciences sector to the CardioDx Board of Directors.

Mr. Guggenhime joined CardioDx as Chief Financial Officer in September 2011. He has more than 12 years of experience as a Chief Financial Officer, of which more than nine years were serving public companies. Mr. Guggenhime holds an M.B.A. from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a B.A. in International Politics and Economics from Middlebury College.

About Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease

Coronary artery disease is a very common heart condition in the United States. One in six deaths among Americans is caused by CAD.(1) CAD can cause a narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries (vessels to the heart that supply the heart with blood, oxygen, and nutrients), reducing blood flow to the heart muscle. This narrowing or blockage in the coronary arteries is often referred to as obstructive CAD, characterized by the presence of atherosclerosis, or plaque.

About Corus CAD

Corus CAD is a blood test that can safely, accurately and conveniently help primary care clinicians and cardiologists assess whether or not a stable non-diabetic patient's symptoms are due to obstructive CAD, enabling many patients to avoid unnecessary noninvasive and invasive cardiac procedures and exposure to imaging-related radiation risks, imaging agent intolerance or complications with cardiac catheterization. The test involves a routine blood draw that is conveniently administered in the clinician's office. The test is simple, convenient, and as a sex-specific test for the diagnosis of obstructive CAD, accounts for critical biological differences between men and women.

The test has been clinically validated in independent patient cohorts, including two prospective, multicenter U.S. studies, PREDICT and COMPASS.^2,3 In the COMPASS study, Corus CAD outperformed myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) as a diagnostic test to exclude obstructive CAD by demonstrating a significantly higher sensitivity (89% vs. 27%, p < 0.001) and a significantly higher negative predictive value (96% vs. 88%, p < 0.001) than MPI for assessing the presence of obstructive CAD. Over 55,000 Corus CAD test results have been commercially delivered to clinicians. Corus CAD is a covered benefit for the estimated 49 million Medicare beneficiaries in the U.S. CardioDx processes all Corus CAD test samples at its CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited clinical laboratory in Palo Alto, Calif.

About Gene Expression

Corus CAD is a gene expression test, not a genetic test. Whereas genetic testing may inform on lifetime disease risk, the Corus CAD gene expression test provides a current-state assessment of obstructive CAD by looking at the gene expression changes associated with atherosclerosis. Gene expression levels change depending on a person's disease status resulting from genetic and environmental factors.

About CardioDx

CardioDx, Inc., a molecular diagnostics company specializing in cardiovascular genomics, is committed to developing clinically validated tests that empower clinicians to better tailor care to each individual patient. Strategically focused on coronary artery disease, cardiac arrhythmia and heart failure, CardioDx is committed to expanding patient access and improving healthcare quality and efficiency through the commercialization of genomic technologies. For more information, please visit www.cardiodx.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the safety and efficacy of and the size of the market for Corus CAD and beliefs regarding the need for and value of gene expression diagnostics. These statements relate to future events and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual levels of activity, performance or achievement to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These statements reflect the views of CardioDx as of the date of this press release with respect to future events and, except as required by law, it undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date of this press release.

¹ Go AS, Mozaffarian D, Roger VL, et al. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics--2013 Update: A Report From the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2013;127:e6-e245.

² Rosenberg S, Elashoff MR, Beineke P, et al. Multicenter Validation of the Diagnostic Accuracy of a Blood-Based Gene Expression Test for Assessing Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease in Nondiabetic Patients. Ann Intern Med. 2010;153:425-434.

³ Thomas GS, Voros S, McPherson JA, et al. A Blood-Based Gene Expression Test for Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease Tested in Symptomatic Nondiabetic Patients Referred for Myocardial Perfusion Imaging: The COMPASS Study. Circ Cardiovasc Genet. 2013;6:154-162.