Genome Interpretation Company Omicia Appoints Mike Aicher as CEO

Genome Interpretation Company Omicia Appoints Mike Aicher as CEO

Industry veteran brings more than 30 years of experience in the commercialization of clinically focused products and services

EMERYVILLE, Calif. – January 2, 2013 – Omicia, Inc., a privately held company offering integrated solutions for interpreting human genome sequences, today announced the appointment of Mike Aicher as Chief Executive Officer and member of the company's Board of Directors.

"We are thrilled to bring Mike on board as we launch commercial operations for our new human genome interpretation platform," said Omicia co-founder Dr. Martin Reese. "Mike's three decades of experience in the development and commercialization of advanced genetic testing services are a perfect fit for Omicia as we enter the genomic medicine market, where entrepreneurship and clinical expertise are needed to build successful businesses."

Prior to joining Omicia, Mr. Aicher was CEO of National Genetics Institute (NGI), a company he co-founded in 1991 and later became a wholly owned subsidiary of Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp). Most recently, Mr. 
Aicher led LabCorp's Western Division and was previously responsible for the company's Esoteric Business Units, which generated more than $1 billion in annual revenue. Prior to NGI, Mr. Aicher served in a number of executive leadership roles at Central Diagnostics Laboratory. He is certified by the University of California at Berkeley as a Global Biotechnology Executive and is a recipient of Ernst & Young's "Entrepreneur of the Year" award for emerging technologies. Mr. Aicher received a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Redlands and an M.B.A. in economics from Columbus University.

"For genomic testing to reach its full potential, we must simplify the analysis of complex sequence data so that we can integrate this information with other routine tests to help diagnose disease and guide treatment decisions," said Mr. Aicher. "Martin and the outstanding Omicia team have built a truly ground-breaking genome interpretation platform with the highest levels of scientific credibility. I look forward to leading Omicia as we enter the commercial market to bring researchers and clinicians better tools for translating genomic data into medically actionable information."

Omicia Chairman Dr. John Stuelpnagel added, "We are delighted that Mike has joined our team and look forward to supporting him as he builds out Omicia's commercial operations. Mike's deep operational expertise, coupled with the world-class genomics and software engineering team assembled by Martin will help Omicia make genome analysis a more routine part of health care delivery."

For more information about Omicia, please visit www.omicia.com.

About Omicia, Inc.
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Omicia develops scalable and fully integrated informatics systems specifically designed to interpret human genome sequences for research and clinical applications. Omicia's mission is to help research scientists, clinicians and patients better understand the most relevant information from personal genome sequences and their potential medical consequences. Omicia is funded with private investments and a series of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants from the National Institutes of Health. For more information, please visit www.omicia.com.

Media contact:
Colin Sanford for Omicia
203.340.2441
[email protected]