Empire Genomics announced the appointments of Andy Watson as Chief Executive Officer and Anthony Scarpello to Chief Commercialization Officer, and the opening of its new headquarters in Williamsville, NY. The company is now focused on increasing operational efficiencies, driving its long-term commercial growth strategy and enabling more customers to advance biomarker research, accelerate diagnosis and improve treatment options for individual patients battling cancer and other complex diseases.
Empire Genomics designs, manufactures and distributes a comprehensive menu of custom and clinical molecular probes. Founded by prominent human genomics pioneer, Norma J. Nowak, PhD, the company has evolved from a Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center spin-out in 2006 to a provider of Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) and Chromogenic In Situ Hybridization (CISH) probes. These products are currently being used by clinical laboratories, biotechnology companies and academic institutions around the world.
“Empire Genomics is now at a very exciting inflection point in our commercial evolution after quickly becoming a leading global provider of molecular diagnostic FISH probes,” said Norma J. Nowak, PhD, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Empire Genomics. “Andy and Anthony are both highly respected industry leaders and the fact that we were able to attract and retain top-tier executive talent is not only a testament to the legacy of the company but also the quality of our technology and our proven ability to consistently deliver products that improve genetic research and patient care.”
Both Andy Watson and Anthony Scarpello bring a successful track record of leading genomics and molecular diagnostic companies, increasing operational efficiencies and delivering innovative life science and clinical laboratory products.
As the new Chief Executive Officer, Andy Watson brings more than two decades of leadership experience in developing, managing and commercializing innovative genomics technologies. Previously, Watson was the Chief Executive Officer at Genturi, a genomics technology start-up company, and the Chief Commercial Officer at RainDance Technologies, a leading provider of microfluidic targeted sequencing and digital PCR technologies that was acquired by Bio-Rad Laboratories. Prior to Raindance, he was the Vice President of SOLiD Sequencing Product Management at Life Technologies, where he was responsible for business strategy, marketing, and product management for next-generation sequencing. Watson led Applied Biosystems’ (now part of Life Technologies) $550M capillary electrophoresis (CE) sequencing business, including instruments, reagents, and software. During his career, he has raised more than $140 million from corporate partnerships, venture capital, debt, and government grants, and has been a key player in M&A with deals up to $725 million. He is an inventor on 16 patents and author of 10 peer-reviewed scientific publications, including papers that showcased results of a landmark human genome sequencing study and a critical C. elegans genome sequencing project.
Scarpello was promoted from Vice President of Sales and Business Development to Chief Commercialization Officer. Since joining Empire Genomics in 2009, he has been responsible for building long-term relationships with customers, guiding product and service line extensions and penetrating new markets. Scarpello previously held numerous senior management roles with Enzo Life Sciences, where he built the commercial team and drove the expansion of the business development practice.
In the past year, Empire Genomics relocated to its new 13,000 square foot headquarters in Williamsville, NY. The laboratory and office facility triples the size of the previous workspace and enables the company to expand operations and recruit scientific talent.