Foundation Medicine brought on Genentech’s Priti Hegde, Ph.D., to be its new chief scientific officer and oversee its work in clinical product development and cancer genomics.
Hegde made the jump between the two Roche-owned siblings after 12 years at Genentech, where she most recently was senior director and principal scientist for oncology biomarker development.
There, she helped lead the group responsible for setting translational science strategies in cancer immunotherapy, across at least 18 therapeutic programs and more than 100 clinical trials. That includes the development and approvals of Tecentriq in the U.S. and Europe, as well as related diagnostic filings.
She has also worked on several Genentech-Foundation collaborations, including research into tumor mutational burden. At Foundation, Hegde will also help oversee early-stage research, regulatory affairs and quality assurance.
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“Dr. Hegde’s expertise, particularly in immunotherapy, will allow expansion of our research capabilities and further evolution in our approach to impacting patient care,” Foundation CEO Cindy Perettie said in a statement.
Perettie previously served as Roche’s senior VP of global oncology product strategy, helping to lead several oncology product launches for both Roche and Genentech before being named as Foundation’s chief this past January.
Hegde takes over for Michael Doherty, who will retire from Foundation Medicine in September, according to the company. Prior to joining Genentech, Hegde was the manager of disease and biomarker transcriptomics at GlaxoSmithKline.
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Foundation was recently tapped by Bayer to develop genomic diagnostic tests for several cancer therapies—including its tissue-agnostic Vitrakvi in solid tumors with TRK fusion mutations, which it picked up from Loxo Oncology.