St. John’s-based Sequence Bio co-founder Chris Gardner has taken over as acting CEO from the company’s former CEO, Tyler Wish.
Entrevestor broke the story, stating that Wish will remain an employee of the company.
“I am excited to lead Sequence Bio through this next stage as we strive to meet our goal of improving drug discovery and delivering benefits back to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador,” said Gardner.
Karen Moores, VP of external affairs for Sequence Bio, said that while Gardner is “acting” CEO, the company has yet to determine if there will be a search for someone else to lead the company in the future.
“This was a business decision and a change that our Board felt was necessary to position the company for success and evolve from startup to a key player in the Newfoundland and Labrador economy,” Moores said. “We continue to have full Board and Investor confidence in our team, our company and our ability to execute on our mission.”
Sequence Bio wants to build the world’s most powerful big data resource for drug discovery through a 100,000 person genome sequencing project in the Newfoundland and Labrador genetic isolate founder population, as Newfoundland and Labrador is home to a unique, homogenous founder population of 500,000 people associated with the world’s highest incidence of numerous rare mendelian conditions and complex diseases.
In August, the company raised $3 million in a round led by Silicon Valley-based firm DCVC.
“Sequence Bio is emerging as a rapidly growing biotechnology company that is going to transform the Newfoundland and Labrador economy and innovate healthcare,” said Killick Capital President Mark Dobbin, an investor and director in the company. “I welcome Chris to this role and wish him every success as he provides leadership in this new stage of growth for the company. Myself, the Board of Directors, and all investors have full confidence in Chris Gardner and the Sequence Bio team and that they will fulfill their commitment to prioritizing the benefits to the people of this province.”