SALT LAKE CITY, June 21, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sera Prognostics, Inc., a women’s healthcare company, announced today that Garrett K. Lam, M.D., FACOG, will be joining the company as chief medical officer on September 4, 2018. Dr. Lam will direct all clinical development activities for Sera as the company achieves its vision to be The Pregnancy Company™. He will lead a group of talented clinical operations professionals who support Sera’s collaborations with research teams across the globe.
“We are thrilled to have someone of Dr. Lam’s stature and experience join Sera to continue to drive the company forward in improving the health and lives of women and infants,” said Gregory C. Critchfield, M.D., M.S., chairman and chief executive officer of Sera Prognostics. “Garrett is highly respected for his expertise, his judgment and his commitment to patients. His leadership will effect changes that positively transform pregnancy care worldwide.”
As a maternal and fetal medicine/high risk pregnancy expert, Dr. Lam is currently professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine-Chattanooga. He also serves as associate director of perinatal services for Regional Obstetrical Consultants in Chattanooga. Dr. Lam received his medical degree from the University of Rochester and completed his obstetrics and gynecology residency at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Phoenix. He received his fellowship training in maternal fetal medicine at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Dr. Lam has authored multiple book chapters and contributed to numerous peer reviewed articles in leading journals based on investigations of various clinical subjects such as preeclampsia, preterm labor, postpartum hemorrhage, fetal anomalies, and genomic medicine. He has served as both national and site primary investigator for collaborative studies, including Sera’s landmark Proteomic Assessment of Preterm Risk (PAPR) study where the PreTRM® blood test was broadly validated as a risk predictor for premature delivery.
“I am tremendously excited to join this Sera team as we continue developing innovative techniques and tools to advance the care of mothers and infants worldwide,” said Dr. Lam. “Sera’s work has led to the development of the PreTRM test, the only clinically validated blood test available for medical professionals to objectively assess prematurity risk. Along with its other products in development, Sera’s tests represent a significant opportunity to improve clinical care for mothers and their babies by providing early, accurate, and highly personalized information for each specific pregnancy. I look forward to working with Sera and its preeminent collaborators to achieve the important vision of enhanced health for mothers and newborns in every community and at all levels of care.”
Dr. Durlin Hickok, who has served as Sera’s chief medical officer since 2011, will continue to work with Sera as an advisor. “Durlin oversaw the original clinical trials that resulted in the validation of the PreTRM test to identify early in pregnancy a woman’s individual risk of preterm birth,” said Dr. Critchfield. “We’d like to express our sincere thanks to Durlin for all his excellent contributions and look forward to continuing our work together as the baton is passed to Garrett.”
About the PreTRM® Test
The PreTRM® test is the first and only broadly clinically-validated blood test that provides an early and individual risk prediction for spontaneous preterm birth in asymptomatic, singleton pregnancies. The PreTRM test measures and analyzes proteins in the blood that are highly predictive of preterm birth. The PreTRM test can help physicians identify early in the pregnancy (as early as 19 weeks of gestation) which women are at increased risk for premature delivery, enabling more informed clinical decisions based on each mother’s individual risk. The PreTRM test is ordered by a medical professional. For more information about the PreTRM test, please visit www.PreTRM.com and the PreTRM test YouTube Channel. You can also join the conversation on Facebook and @PreTRM.
About Sera Prognostics, Inc.
Sera Prognostics is a global leader in high value women’s health diagnostics, delivering pivotal information to physicians to improve health and improve the economics of healthcare delivery for pregnant women. Sera is developing innovative diagnostic tests focused on the early prediction of preterm birth (PTB) risk and other complications of pregnancy. Sera’s PreTRM® test is available nationwide through the Company’s collaboration with LabCorp. PreTRM is the first and only broadly clinically-validated blood test that is used early in pregnancy to accurately predict the risk of premature birth. The test objectively reports to the physician the risk of premature delivery, enabling earlier proactive interventions designed to prolong gestation and improve neonatal health outcomes. Sera’s strong management team has significant clinical development and women’s healthcare diagnostic experience. Sera is backed by highly respected healthcare investors, including Domain Associates, InterWest Partners, Catalyst Health Ventures, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and LabCorp. Sera is collaborating with the Gates Foundation to translate its discoveries into technologies well suited for low and middle-income countries in its journey to improve maternal and infant health globally. Two prospective intervention studies are underway to demonstrate the impact of proactive interventions to reduce the rate of preterm birth when women are identified at high risk of prematurity with the PreTRM test. Sera Prognostics is located in Salt Lake City, Utah. For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.seraprognostics.com.
Media Contact:
Terri Clevenger
Continuum Health Communications
tclevenger@continuumhealthcom.com
(203) 856-4326