31 May 2019 - - Kevin Conroy, chairman and CEO of Exact Sciences Corp., and Michelle Griffin, director at Acer Therapeutics, Inc. and HTG Molecular Diagnostics, Inc., have been elected to the board of directors of US-based Adaptive Biotechnologies, the company said.

Board member Arnold J. Levine, PhD, has transitioned to Adaptive's scientific advisory board.

Conroy brings extensive business, legal, and executive leadership experience in the biotechnology and molecular diagnostics industries.

As chief executive officer of Exact Sciences Corp., he has most recently overseen the FDA approval, launch, and commercialisation of Cologuard, the first non-invasive, stool-based DNA screening test approved for detecting colorectal cancer.

Griffin brings extensive operational experience in the biotechnology industry and deep corporate finance experience, conducting many public financings, including the initial public offerings for Trubion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Corixa Corp. later acquired by GSK.

Their collective board and executive leadership experience in the biotechnology industry will benefit Adaptive as the company accelerates the development and commercialisation of diagnostic and therapeutic product opportunities derived from its immune medicine platform.

Conroy has served as the president, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of directors of Exact Sciences Corp., a public molecular diagnostic company, since March 2009.

He also serves on the board of directors of Epizyme, Inc., a public clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, and Arya Sciences acquisition Corp., a public special purpose acquisition company sponsored by an affiliate of Perceptive Advisors LLC.

Prior to joining Exact Sciences Corp., Conroy served as president and chief executive officer of Third Wave Technologies, Inc., a molecular diagnostics company, from 2005 to 2008.

Conroy holds a JD from the University of Michigan Law School and a BS in Electrical Engineering from Michigan State University.

Griffin currently serves as a member of the board of directors and chair of the audit committee for public companies Acer Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, and HTG Molecular Diagnostics, Inc.

Griffin previously served on the board of directors and as chair of the audit committee for public companies PhaseRx, Inc., from 2016 to 2018; OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc., from 2008 to 2011 and Sonus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., from 2004 to 2008.

Griffin served as executive vice president, operations, and chief financial officer at OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from 2011 to 2013, served as acting chief executive, senior vice president and chief operating officer at Trubion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from 2009 until its acquisition in 2010 and as its chief financial officer from 2006 to 2009; and served as senior vice president and chief financial officer of Dendreon Corp. from 2005 to 2006.

Adaptive Biotechnologies is in immune-driven medicine that aims to improve people's lives by learning from the wisdom of their adaptive immune systems.

Adaptive's proprietary immune medicine platform reveals and translates insights from our adaptive immune systems with unprecedented scale and precision.

Working with drug developers, clinicians and academic researchers, we are applying these insights to develop products that will transform the way diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, and infectious diseases are diagnosed and treated.