- Dr. Billings is a renowned diagnostics specialist with a history of commercializing novel assays in precision medicine
- Will provide key regulatory and reimbursement support
- Will assist business development efforts and strategic partnerships
IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oncocyte Corp. (NASDAQ: OCX), a diagnostics technology company, announces the appointment of Dr. Paul Billings as the company's Consulting Chief Medical Officer. In this part-time role, he will support a range of strategic and clinical goals for Oncocyte.
Dr. Billings is a recognized pioneer in genomics and precision medicine with over 40 years of experience spanning academia, government, and the biotechnology industry. He joins Oncocyte from Biological Dynamics, where he served as CEO and Chairman, driving innovation in exosome-based diagnostics for early cancer detection. Previously, he served as Chief Medical Officer at Natera, Inc., during the commercialization phase of its blood test for kidney transplant rejection as well as its cancer blood test that can identify minimal residual disease. He has also been an advisor or a physician leader with Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, Quest Diagnostics, Life Technologies Corp, Johnson & Johnson, and Thermo Fisher Scientific, contributing to transformative advances in molecular medicine.
"We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Billings to the Oncocyte team," said Josh Riggs, CEO of Oncocyte. "He is a legend in molecular diagnostics with a proven track record of not only advancing groundbreaking technologies but also bringing them to market and making a tangible impact on patient care."
"My interest is in individualizing care - in driving clinical utility and better outcomes. Enabling hospitals and providers to do the testing nearer to the patient, with quality and favorable economics, will result in improved practice," Dr. Billings said. "I am honored to collaborate with this talented and passionate team in bridging the gap between clinical innovation and the accessibility of care."
Dr. Billings holds M.D. and Ph.D. degrees in immunology from Harvard University, with postgraduate training at the University of Washington. He is board certified as an internal medicine and medical genetics specialist. He has held academic positions at Harvard, Stanford, and UC San Francisco, where he has mentored the next generation of leaders in genetics and medicine. He has also served on the Advisory Boards at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA.) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
About Oncocyte
Oncocyte is a leading diagnostics technology company. The company's tests are designed to help provide clarity and confidence to physicians and their patients. VitaGraft is a clinical blood-based solid organ transplantation monitoring test. GraftAssure is a research use only (RUO) blood-based solid organ transplantation monitoring test. DetermaIO is a gene expression test that assesses the tumor microenvironment to predict response to immunotherapies. DetermaCNI is a blood-based monitoring tool for monitoring therapeutic efficacy in cancer patients. For more information about Oncocyte, please visit https://oncocyte.com/. For more information about our products, please visit the following web pages:
VitaGraft Kidney - https://oncocyte.com/vitagraft-kidney/
VitaGraft Liver - https://oncocyte.com/vitagraft-liver/
GraftAssure - https://oncocyte.com/graftassure/
DetermaIO - https://oncocyte.com/determa-io/
DetermaCNI - https://oncocyte.com/determa-cni/
VitaGraft, GraftAssure, DetermaIO, and DetermaCNI are trademarks of Oncocyte Corporation.
CONTACT:
Jeff Ramson
PCG Advisory
(646) 863-6893
jramson@pcgadvisory.com
Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements that are not historical fact (including but not limited to statements that contain words such as "will," "believes," "plans," "anticipates," "expects," "estimates," "may," and similar expressions) are forward-looking statements. These statements include those pertaining to, among other things, Oncocyte's commercialization efforts and progress with respect to its molecular diagnostic tests and its proprietary diagnostic technology for use in organ transplant patients, the expectation of successful commercialization and growth of the total addressable market for VitaGraft Kidney, and other statements about the future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans, or prospects expressed by management. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, risks inherent in the development and/or commercialization of diagnostic tests or products, uncertainty in the results of clinical trials or regulatory approvals, the capacity of Oncocyte's third-party supplied blood sample analytic system to provide consistent and precise analytic results on a commercial scale, potential interruptions to supply chains, the need and ability to obtain future capital, maintenance of intellectual property rights in all applicable jurisdictions, obligations to third parties with respect to licensed or acquired technology and products, the need to obtain third party reimbursement for patients' use of any diagnostic tests Oncocyte or its subsidiaries commercialize in applicable jurisdictions, and risks inherent in strategic transactions such as the potential failure to realize anticipated benefits, legal, regulatory or political changes in the applicable jurisdictions, accounting and quality controls, potential greater than estimated allocations of resources to develop and commercialize technologies, or potential failure to maintain any laboratory accreditation or certification. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements and accordingly such statements should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect the business of Oncocyte, particularly those mentioned in the "Risk Factors" and other cautionary statements found in Oncocyte's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, which are available from the SEC's website. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they were made. Oncocyte undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made, except as required by law.
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