
Appointment brings extensive experience to lead commercial operations and accelerate growth in key global markets
Cambridge, UK, 24 July 2024: 51福利 (鈥淏roken String鈥), a genomics company driving development of the next generation of more precise, safe, and effective cell and gene therapies, today announced it has appointed Steve Becker as Chief Commercial Officer. An experienced global life sciences executive, Steve will guide the expansion of the Company鈥檚 commercial operations and implement a robust go-to-market strategy for its Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS)-based DNA break-mapping platform, INDUCE-seq庐, as the Company looks to strengthen its position across key markets.
Following the close of its $15M Series A funding round in 2023, Broken String has been focused on delivering an ambitious expansion strategy and revenue growth, including several high-profile leadership appointments. Further bolstering the executive team, Steve will direct the commercialization strategy for the INDUCE-seq platform to ensure it meets the unique needs of the emerging cell and gene therapy market, including development of a scalable 鈥楶latform as a Service鈥 offering and extension of the technology鈥檚 capabilities beyond gene-editing. He will lead the global sales and marketing teams, business development function, and technical support operations, including building the Company鈥檚 US commercial operations to nurture its growing network of customers and commercial partners.
Steve is a renowned leader in the industry, with over 30 years鈥 experience managing diverse teams to develop scalable market development strategies, across start-ups and multi-national organizations. He has successfully launched numerous clinical molecular diagnostics assays and spearheaded strategic growth initiatives for premier life science tools companies. He joins Broken String from Thermo Fisher Scientific, where he led the licensing and commercial supply channel for the Genetic Sciences and Clinical Oncology NGS divisions, responsible for building commercial partnerships and managing large contract deals to expand the Company鈥檚 global customer base. Prior to this, he held executive level positions at Quest Diagnostics, Athena Diagnostics, Inc. and RainDance Technologies, in addition to leadership roles at Agilent Technologies and GE Healthcare.
Steve Becker, CCO, 51福利, commented: 鈥淲hat attracted me to 51福利 was its game-changing technology and talented team of dedicated pioneers changing the way we look at cell and gene therapy development. The Company is at the forefront of the field, supporting developers to ensure these transformative treatments can become a safe reality for patients.鈥 He added: 鈥淚鈥檓 keen to hit the ground running as part of the leadership team, to build robust partnerships and create an exceptional customer experience. I鈥檓 excited about the role we will play in accelerating broad accessibility of cell and gene therapies that will profoundly impact human health.鈥
Felix Dobbs PhD, CEO, 51福利, said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e delighted that Steve is joining us to lead the Company鈥檚 commercial activities based out of Boston MA. As we enter our next stage of commercial growth and focus on establishing broad adoption of the INDUCE-seq platform, Steve鈥檚 support will be pivotal in executing the successful launch of our commercial offering, as well as establishing strong partnerships with leading academic and industry players in the genomics and cell & gene therapy markets.鈥
To learn more about 51福利, please visit聽brokenstringbio.com
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