Bio-Rad shakes things up

HERCULES, Calif.—Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., has announced the appointment of Dara Grantham Wright as both executive vice president and president of the Clinical Diagnostics Group, effective January 1, 2020. She takes the place of John Hertia, who retired from this role at the end of December. Grantham Wright will be responsible for providing global leadership and management of the overall strategy and business direction for Bio-Rad’s Clinical Diagnostics Group global operations.

 

“We are pleased to have Dara join Bio-Rad and believe she will make an excellent addition to our team,” said Andrew Last, Bio-Rad executive vice president and chief operating officer. “Dara brings a wealth of experience, business acumen, and a proven track record of success that make her the ideal person to lead our Clinical Diagnostics Group. We would also like to thank John for his many years of valuable contributions to the growth and success of Bio-Rad, and we wish him the best in his retirement.”

 

Grantham Wright was most recently vice president & general manager of the Biosciences Division, Life Science Solutions Group, Protein & Cell Analysis, Thermo Fisher Scientific’s largest business unit. Prior to Thermo Fisher Scientific, she was senior vice president & general manager of the eBioscience Business Unit at Affymetrix.

 

She has also served with Boreal Genomics as chief commercial officer and with Affymetrix as global vice president of Strategic Marketing & Clinical Applications. Prior to Affymetrix, Grantham Wright spent over 10 years in marketing roles at BD Biosciences. She holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from San Diego State University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Spanish.

 

Bio-Rad recently announced that Norman Schwartz, president and CEO; Andrew Last; and Ilan Daskal, executive vice president and CFO, will be participating in the 38th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference and giving a presentation on Monday, January 13, at 11 a.m. Pacific time. The conference is held at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. The company points out that a link to the live webcast of the presentation will be available in the Investor Relations area of Bio-Rad’s website for those not attending the conference.

 

Bio-Rad also noted in December that the International Trade Commission (ITC) has issued a final decision that affirmed 10X Genomics infringement of three of Bio-Rad’s patents. The ITC also issued a Limited Exclusion Order and a Cease and Desist Order against 10X Genomics, prohibiting the unlicensed importation of the infringing microfluidic devices. The order does permit researchers who have a documented need to continue receiving the infringing products for specific current ongoing research projects, on the condition that 10X adheres to certain remedial orders.

 

The ITC’s decision won’t affect Bio-Rad’s ongoing lawsuits in federal district courts in Delaware and Massachusetts. These lawsuits accuse 10X’s Next GEM chips of infringing other Bio-Rad patents that were not the subject of the ITC proceeding.

 

“We are pleased with the International Trade Commission’s decision to uphold the Administrative Law Judge’s finding, supporting our belief that 10X Genomics has advanced its position in the droplet-based NGS sample prep market through its unauthorized use of Bio-Rad’s intellectual property,” noted Schwartz in a press release. “Bio-Rad will continue to pursue its legal rights to address the selling by 10X Genomics of products, including its Next GEM products, that we believe infringe Bio-Rad’s patents.”

 

The decision by the full Commission, which was issued on December 18, 2019, confirms an earlier decision by the Administrative Law Judge finding that 10X’s GemCode products infringe Bio-Rad’s patent rights. It is subject to a 60-day Presidential review period, after which the Limited Exclusion Order and Cease and Desist will become effective if this process results in agreement with the Commission’s findings.