California Life Sciences Association (CLSA) Adds Leaders from Genentech, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and OncoCyte to Board of Directors

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO and SAN DIEGO, Nov. 23, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- California Life Sciences Association (CLSA), today announced that its board of directors appointed three new members: William Annett, Chief Executive Officer, OncoCyte; Perry Nisen, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer and Donald Bren Chief Executive Chair, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute; and James Sabry, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Genentech Partnering. CLSA is the nation's largest statewide life sciences public policy advocacy and business solutions organization serving over 750 life sciences organizations.

"We're pleased to welcome strong life sciences sector representation from Genentech, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and OncoCyte to our board," said Sara Radcliffe, President & CEO of California Life Sciences Association (CLSA). "California's life sciences sector is a state treasure that employs nearly 300,000 Californians at more than 2,800 life sciences organizations. William, Perry and James bring influential knowledge to the table that will help inform CLSA's approach as we work with officials in Sacramento, in Washington DC and around the state to ensure we protect and promote the sector and the promise and hope it offers to millions around the world."

About William Annett

William Annett is Chief Executive Officer of OncoCyte, a molecular diagnostics company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel, non-invasive liquid biopsy diagnostics for the early detection of cancer.. His diagnostics industry experience includes his service as CEO at BioFX Laboratories, Inc., which created innovative products in the in vitro diagnostics field and was successfully sold to a large life sciences company. He founded and led Corra Life Sciences, a prenatal diagnostics company, which worked with a consortium of universities to develop blood tests for the major diseases of pregnancy. In addition, Mr. Annett has held significant management positions at Genentech and Accenture and has worked on the clinical development and commercialization of a wide range of drugs and diagnostics.

At Genentech, Mr. Annett led the Commercial Strategy group and was responsible for large operational projects with a $150 million budget and over four hundred team members. He also directed the Project Finance function for R &D, which supported all development pipeline products and more than 200 clinical trials.
Most recently, Mr. Annett was a Managing Director at Accenture where he founded, built, and headed Accenture's West Coast Life Sciences practice with sales, marketing, and delivery responsibilities for the entire territory. His clients included most of the major biotech and pharmaceutical companies in the western United States.

Mr. Annett holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

About Perry Nisen, M.D., Ph.D.

Perry Nisen, M.D., Ph.D., is an accomplished physician scientist whose expertise spans research, clinical practice, and extensive drug discovery and development. He was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute in August 2014, and holds the Donald Bren Chief Executive Chair.

Before joining SBP, Dr. Nisen was Senior Vice President of Science and Innovation at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). In this role, he facilitated innovation and integration of R &D across GSK's global organization and was integral to the discovery, development, and commercialization of a vast portfolio of drugs. Earlier in his career at GSK, he held various key positions, including Chief Medical Officer, Senior Vice President and Oncology Therapy Area Head, Senior Vice President of Cancer Research, and Senior Vice President of Clinical Pharmacology and Discovery Medicine.

Previously, Dr. Nisen was Divisional Vice President of Cancer Research and Oncology Development at Abbott Laboratories, where he helped build a Cancer Discovery organization and created a pipeline of clinical candidates.

Dr. Nisen holds a B.S. from Stanford University and M.D. and Ph.D. from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Formerly, he was the Lowe Foundation Professor of Neuro-Oncology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and a practicing physician in pediatric neuro-oncology.

About James Sabry, M.D., Ph.D.

James Sabry, M.D., Ph.D., is Senior Vice President, Genentech Partnering, where he oversees the global Business Development and Alliance Management functions. Dr. Sabry received an M.D. from Queen's University in Kingston, Canada, completed an internship in internal medicine at Toronto Western Hospital and a residency in Neurology at The Brigham and Women's Hospital of Harvard Medical School. He then completed a Ph.D. in Neuroscience in the Biochemistry Department at UCSF while also holding an adjunct clinical appointment in the Department of Neurology.

Dr. Sabry was then Founder, President and CEO of Cytokinetics until 2007. In 2007, he became Chairman of the Board of Directors and a formal member of their Scientific Advisory Board. In 2008, he became President and CEO of Arete Therapeutics, a company focused on the discovery and development of therapeutics for diabetes.

In 2010, Dr. Sabry moved to Genentech to take his current position. He maintains membership on the Scientific Advisory Board of Cytokinetics. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of a nonprofit organization, HopeLab that is working on advancing high tech solutions to certain diseases of youth and young adults. He is also on the external advisory board of QB3 at UCSF.

About California Life Sciences Association (CLSA)

California Life Sciences Association (CLSA) is the leading voice for California's life sciences sector. We work closely with industry, government, academia and other stakeholders to shape public policy, drive business solutions and grow California's life sciences innovation ecosystem. CLSA serves over 750 biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device, and diagnostics companies, research universities and institutes, investors and service providers. CLSA was founded in 2015 when the Bay Area Bioscience Association (BayBio) and the California Healthcare Institute (CHI) merged to create the state's most influential life sciences advocacy and business leadership organization. Visit CLSA at www.califesciences.org, and follow us on Twitter @CALifeSciences, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.