NEW YORK — June 1, 2021 — Acuamark Diagnostics, Inc. (“AcuamarkDx”), a biotechnology company that revolutionizes the global fight against cancer with first-in-kind early-cancer detection technology, today announced that Dr. Cedric Francois has joined its Board of Directors.
Successful public biotech entrepreneur and CEO joins AcuamarkDx's Board of Directors as company prepares for next phase of development.
Dr. Cedric Francois, MD, PhD is the visionary Co-Founder and CEO of Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: APLS), which he and his cofounders built from the ground up from novel scientific concept to a life-changing pipeline, and successfully navigated through development, rapid team growth, public listing, and recently, commercialization.
With his strong leadership skills and experience in growing biotechnology companies, the addition of Dr. Cedric Francois further strengthens AcuamarkDx's Board of Directors team and complements the organization's team of world-class professionals during its next phase of growth.
"Early cancer detection – if done right – will make an enormous difference for cancer survival worldwide. I have followed Acuamark Diagnostics over the years and its progress has been nothing less than remarkable. Its approach for much improved early-cancer detection is fundamentally differentiated, and I cannot wait to see the Company enter the next phase. I look forward working with Bernard and other Directors to bring the Company's much-needed democratized solutions to the broader population and help make AcuamarkDx a tremendous success." - Dr. Cedric Francois,
Most cancer cases are detected too late, resulting in poor cancer survival of ~50% in the aggregate (globally). AcuamarkDx's unique genetic early-cancer screening technology is designed to produce higher true positive and lower false positive results for early cancer detection, seamlessly and cost-effectively, from a simple tube of blood.
"We are delighted to welcome to our Board an executive of Cedric's breadth of experience in managing a life science company from an early stage to a successful public company". - William Gedale, Executive Chairman
"Dr. Francois is first and foremost an incredible human being, deeply compassionate and singularly focused on real solutions which can make real impact to the patient. The addition of such an experienced operator and entrepreneur, someone who successfully navigated both explosive company growth as well as financial markets, is a tremendous value-add to our Board as the company looks towards the future. We are honored to welcome Cedric to our Board of Directors." - Dr. Bernard Peperstraete, MD, Co-Founder and CEO
For more information, please visit www.acuamarkdx.com, or contact us at
About Cedric Francois, MD, PhD
Dr. Cedric Francois, is Co-Founder and CEO of Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: APLS). Dr Francois and his co-founders were the first group to test complement-inhibiting drug candidates for a range of diseases (e.g. AMD, GA, PNH, etc.). Dr Francois successfully led Apellis through its early development stages, cross-over and IPO, and now leads APLS' rapidly expanding team, therapy portfolio and commercialization efforts.
Dr. Francois has numerous publications and is inventor on several biotechnology patent applications. He received his MD degree from the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium and his PhD in physiology from the University of Louisville. Following postgraduate training in pediatric and transplant surgery, Dr. Francois joined the research team that performed the first successful hand transplantation in Louisville in 1999.
About Acuamark Diagnostics Inc.
Acuamark Diagnostics is a biotechnology company focused on developing a differentiated approach for blood-based early-cancer detection, specifically designed to better meet the biological and scale challenges of early-detection. Backed by a highly experienced team of industry developers and scientific experts, it is AcuamarkDx's mission to improve cancer management and survival by intercepting early-cancer more reliably, accessibly and cost-effectively, with first-in-kind, high-precision genetic detection assays.
Media Contact:
Bernard Peperstraete, MD
Chief Executive Officer
For more information, please visit www.acuamarkdx.com, or contact us at
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