PinkDx Inc, a San Francisco-based early-stage diagnostics company, announced on Tuesday that it has named Robert S. Epstein, MD, MS as its new director.

Dr Epstein, a strategic consultant to life sciences companies and an epidemiologist, has extensive expertise in pharmacoeconomics and health outcomes research. He has worked as president of the Medco-UBC division and as chief research and development officer of Medco Health Solutions, Inc. He has also worked as chief medical officer at Medco. He is a member of the board of directors of Fate Therapeutics Inc, Illumina, Inc and Veracyte Inc, where he is the chairman. He has served as the president of the International Society of Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research and worked on the board of directors of the Drug Information Association and the International Society of Quality of Life. He has also worked on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Evaluation of Genomic Applications in Practice & Prevention Stakeholder Committee and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Centers for Education and Research on Therapeutics Committee.

Bonnie Anderson, PinkDx's cofounder, chairwoman and chief executive officer, said: "We are delighted to have a life sciences industry veteran of Dr. Epstein's calibre join the PinkDx board. His extensive expertise in genomics, clinical research and health economics will be especially important as we develop and seek reimbursement for our first test."