20/20 GeneSystems, Inc. Announces the Appointment of Joel Kanter, Chairman of the Board, and Two Additional Board Members Raymond Cypess, DVM/Ph.D. and Lawrence Shulman, Esq.
Rockville, MD – March 18, 2013 – 20/20 GeneSystems, Inc. (the "Company"), a company focused on developing and commercializing innovative tests to aid in the detection and diagnosis of cancer, is pleased to announce new appointments to its Board of Directors. Joel Kanter has been named Chairman of the Board. Raymond Cypess, VDM/Ph.D. and Lawrence Shulman, Esq. were named as additional board members for the Company.
Joel Kanter is the President of Windy City, Inc., a privately held investment firm. Mr. Kanter has an extensive and distinguished career investing in and advising leading healthcare companies. In addition to 20/20 GeneSystems, Mr. Kanter was one of the founders of Prolor Biotech, Inc. (NYSE: PBTH), the first investor and a Board Member of Medgenics, Inc. (NYSE: MEDG), as well an investor and participant in a variety of other emerging healthcare entities. Previously, Mr. Kanter was CEO of Walnut Financial Services, Inc. (Nasdaq: WNUT), a firm with particular emphasis on supporting the financial needs of healthcare companies. Under Mr. Kanter's leadership, Walnut's portfolio investments included a number of life sciences companies such as: ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARIA), BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: BCRX), Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: CTIC), Omeros Corporation (Nasdaq: OMER), Pathogenesis, Inc., Texas Biotechnology, Inc., and VaxGen Inc. Additionally, Walnut had substantial involvement with, and Mr. Kanter was a Director of GranCare, Inc. (NYSE: GC) from the time in which it was generating $3 million in sales until it was sold to Apollo 9 years later when it was generating $1.3 billion in sales; Encore Medical (Nasdaq: ENMC) which sold to Blackstone for $870 million after having grown from $11 million in sales to $480 million in 10 years; and I-Flow Corporation, which sold to Kimberly Clark for $325 million. Walnut Financial was itself sold to Tower Hill Capital in a transaction valued at $400 million. Outside of healthcare, Mr. Kanter is the Board Chair of the Black Student Fund, serves on the Kennedy Center's National Committee for the Performing Arts, and serves on the Virginia Israel Advisory Board.
Raymond H. Cypess, DVM/Ph.D., is Chairman and CEO of ATCC (American Type Culture Collection) in Manassas, Virginia, where he has demonstrated the ability to apply business acumen, fiscal responsibility, and innovative approaches to the management of non-profit and for-profit corporate structures. During his professional career, Dr. Cypess participated on NIAID scientific review boards and various NIH Study Sections, served on a variety of healthcare- related editorial boards, and authored over 75 scientific publications. Dr. Cypess held board positions for various NYSE and NASDAQ-listed companies including: Mid Atlantic Medical Services Inc., later acquired by United HealthGroup Inc, (NYSE: UNH) and Commonwealth Biotechnologies Inc. (OTC: CBTEQ). Dr. Cypess also served as a Director and Treasurer of the Virginia Biotechnology Authority.
Lawrence A. Shulman, Esq. is the founding member and currently Senior Counsel of Shulman, Rogers, Gandal, Pordy & Ecker, P.A., the largest independent law firm in the Washington suburban area. Mr. Shulman was a recipient of the Maryland State Bar Association's "Real Estate Lawyer of the Year" award and has been recognized by the Legal Times with its Leading Lawyers Award. In 2012, he was the first practicing lawyer to be inducted into the Maryland Business Hall of Fame. Mr. Shulman devotes a significant amount of time to technology transfer, public/private ventures, and state and local government relations.
"We are proud to announce the addition of such a talented and experienced team to build the Company's Board of Directors "stated Jonathan Cohen, CEO of 20/20 GeneSytems, Inc. "Each gentleman offers unique skills that will support our Company's growth. We are at an important stage in our corporate development - increasing the sales of our lung cancer detection test, PAULAs™ Test, and developing our unique biomarker detection product, predicTOR™. The combination of healthcare business, medical insight, and legal guidance from our Board additions will enable 20/20 GeneSystems to accelerate our goals."
About 20/20 GeneSystems, Inc.
20/20 GeneSystems, Inc. develops and commercializes innovative tests that aid in the early detection and therapy selection for various types of cancers. The Company's initial focus has been its revenue-stage, healthcare reimbursable, diagnostic blood test, PAULAs™ Test used for early detection of lung cancer. PAULAs™ Test is being marketed through Genesys Biolabs, a division 20/20 GeneSystems, Inc. The second area of expertise is in personalized medicine with the predicTOR™ Test, a patented technology for profiling solid tumors. For additional information, please visit www.2020gene.com
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