Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA and Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India, September 2, 2010: Gene Logic, an Ocimum Biosolutions company, a leading provider of genomic solutions, is pleased to announce the appointment of Norrie J. W. Russell, Ph. D., as the President of the company. With more than 30 years of experience in drug discovery, Dr. Russell has a long history of success driving innovation in pharmaceutical discovery and development. He also has experience leading entrepreneurial biotechnology companies, raising capital, and developing pioneering new technologies. Prior to joining Gene Logic, Dr. Russell has held leadership roles with NovaRx, Invitrogen, Aviva Biosciences, and Lynx Therapeutics.
Prior to moving to the United States, Dr. Russell had a long career at AstraZeneca, where he was Global Head, Biological Science and Technology, with responsibility for the application of genomics, genetics and proteomics to both target discovery and the entire research and development process. Dr. Russell also has headed several functions, including Target Discovery, International Genomics and Biotechnology. Dr. Russell holds a Ph. D. in Physiology from Glasgow University, Scotland.
"We are extremely excited about getting Dr. Russell on board as we progress our Research as a Service (RaaS) offerings. Norrie brings leadership that is a unique blend of experience, education and enthusiasm to take Ocimum Biosolutions to the next level," said Ms. Anu Acharya, CEO of Ocimum Biosolutions.
Dr. Russell added, "Ocimum's vision to be the premier global provider of seamless quality support across the research, pre-clinical, and clinical spectrum is compelling. Their capabilities include a recent expansion of clinical trial support and GLP/CLIA compliant offerings. This vision resonates with me and is reflected in our customer base. I look forward to joining the team and helping make Gene Logic and Ocimum the ‘go-to' company in genomics, genetics and informatics outsourcing."
About Ocimum Biosolutions
Ocimum Biosolutions is an integrated global genomic services company with operations in Hyderabad, India, and Gaithersburg, MD (Gene Logic). We provide comprehensive (research level and GLP-compliant) genomic services, reference databases, and LIMS solutions. Our distinct platform "Research as a Service" (RaaS) allows complete outsourcing of genomics - from storing biological samples and performing on demand DNA and RNA based services to validating biomarkers using our proprietary databases and providing data and bioinformatic analysis. We have been chosen as a global preferred outsourcing provider for most of the top 25 pharma and biotech companies plus leading research institutes. Our partners recognize our wide-ranging expertise in genomics and genetic sciences, discovery and evaluation of gene targets and biomarkers, and sample analysis for clinical studies.
With our global infrastructure's standardized procedures, capacity, and highly skilled staff, we are capable of supporting drug development programs from pre-clinical target development and toxicogenomic assessment to clinical biomarker identification and patient stratification. Our expertise is unparalleled and was gained through the creation of the world's largest commercial gene expression databases - BioExpress® and ToxExpress®. Ocimum has been consistently ranked as India's fastest growing biotechnology company and one of the fastest growing technology companies over the last five years by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.
For more information, please visit www.ocimumbio.com.