03-29-2010: Roche NimbleGen announced that Frank Pitzer has been appointed as CEO. Dr. Pitzer’s extensive background and experience of over eight years at Roche will be instrumental in guiding the company through its next stage of growth. With his successful track record in several key management positions within Roche Diagnostics, he brings a wealth of organizational, commercial, and relevant operating experience in key areas impacting the genomics and life science industry today.
Dr. Pitzer most recently served as Head of Divisional Quality and Regulatory Affairs reporting directly to the CEO of Roche Diagnostics and was also an active member of the Diagnostics Executive Committee (DEC). In addition to his extensive management experience and background at Roche, Dr. Pitzer brings a broad scientific perspective having earned a PhD in Biology from Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry.
“We are extremely excited to announce Dr. Frank Pitzer as the CEO of Roche NimbleGen and look forward to expanding the company’s position as a leading genomics solution provider,” stated Manfred Baier, Head of Roche Applied Science. “Frank’s leadership skills and extensive experience in the life science industry make him the perfect fit to guide Roche NimbleGen through the next stages of growth. His valuable insight and outstanding management experience will further entrench the company as a leading manufacturer of microarray technologies.”
A team of researchers from Roche, including scientists from Roche Pharma Research and Early Development and Roche NimbleGen, reported in Genome Research that they have generated the first draft genome sequence of the cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis) and developed a novel microarray d ... more
The xCELLigence RTCA System of Roche is being used in the European Union’s DETECTIVE ("Detection of endpoints and biomarkers for repeated dose toxicity using in vitro systems”) Project, a joint study funded by the European Cosmetics Association (Colipa) and the European Commission, where Ro ... more
The deadly E. coli O104 strain that has killed dozens and hospitalized thousands across Europe has been sequenced using 454 Life Sciences’ benchtop GS Junior sequencing system to generate the “most accurate and detailed genetic analysis to date” of this particularly virulent strain. The seq ... more
The main focus in proteomic studies is on the identification of proteins in given biological samples. Proteins isolated and separated from a given sample (e.g., whole cell lysates, blood or tissue, protein complexes) by immunoprecipitation or affinity chromatography or two-dimensional elect ... more
Transfection of cells is one of the main techniques used to influence gene expression. Most primary cells and human skeletal myoblasts (SkMC) in particular are very difficult to transfect, whereas for cell lines such as C2C12, many suitable transfection reagents and protocols are available. ... more
One of the most interesting aspects of real-time PCR based on detection of fluorophoric-labeled oligonucleotides, such as Hydrolysis probes, and Molecular Beacons, is the possibility of being able to detect conveniently multiple targets in the same PCR reaction (multiplex PCR). Ideally, a ... more
Roche announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the cobas HPV (Human Papillomavirus) Test which identifies women at highest risk for developing cervical cancer. This test will help physicians make early, more accurate decisions about patient care, which may preve ... more
Roche and IBM announced an agreement to develop a nanopore-based sequencer that will directly read and decode human DNA quickly and efficiently. Focused on advancing IBM’s recently published “DNA Transistor” technology, the collaboration will take advantage of IBM’s leadership in microelect ... more
caprotec bioanalytics GmbH announced that it has successfully completed a research collaboration with F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Basel, Switzerland. Under the collaboration research agreement, caprotec used its proprietary CCMS (Capture Compound Mass Spectrometry) technology to analyze the bindi ... more