Welcome to this week's Chutes and Ladders, our roundup of hirings and retirings throughout the industry. Please send the good word--or the bad--from your shop to Michael Gibney (email | Twitter) or Amirah Al Idrus (email | Twitter), and we will feature it here at the end of each week.
With drug discovery ambitions, 23andMe recruits Genentech vet Scheller |
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23andMe recruited ex-Genentech luminary Richard Scheller to lead its search for drug targets from its database of genetic information on more than 850,000 people. Scheller retired from Roche's ($RHHBY) Genentech in December, but will begin as chief science officer and head of therapeutic development at 23andMe in April. At the Mountain View, CA, outfit, he'll recruit a team to analyze the database the company has collected since 2006 from its $99 spit test for potential targets, looking for treatments for common and rare diseases alike. "I have dedicated my life to research aimed at fulfilling unmet needs for very sick people," Scheller said in a statement. "I believe that human genetics has a very important role to play in finding new treatments for disease. I am excited about the potential for what may be possible through 23andMe's database. It is unlike any other." Story | Release
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