Tuesday, August 26, 2008

New CTO Efcavitch to lead Helicos’ DNA sequencing

By Mass High Tech Staff

In an effort to enhance its research and development, genetic analysis firm Helicos BioSciences Corp. has named Bill Efcavitch the new chief technology officer.

Efcavitch will be responsible for heading the company’s single molecule sequencing chemistry program.

Before being named CTO, Efcavitch worked for Helicos as senior vice president of product development. Before that, he worked for Applied Biosystems Inc., where he led the DNA sequencing group, which developed the model to finish the Human Genome Project.

In conjunction with the personnel announcement, Helicos has also appointed Marc Levine as senior vice president of product development and Stan Letovsky as vice president for scientific informatics.

The shift in positions follows Helicos’ announcement last week that the company’s president and COO Steve Lombardi would be taking over the reins as CEO.

Helicos BioSciences announced in March that it had sold its first DNA sequencing system. The life sciences company’s DNA mapping system, called the Heliscope Sequencer, is said by company officials to be the most advanced product of its kind on the market. Company officials say the Heliscope is only a few years from providing the so-called $1,000 genome.

Helicos BioSciences reported a net loss in June 2008 of $11.9 million on quarterly revenue of $250,000.