Michael Barbella, Managing Editor02.27.24
bioAffinity Technologies Inc. has appointed Jamie Platt, Ph.D., to its Board of Directors. Dr. Platt has two decades of experience bringing novel diagnostic technologies to global markets.
“Dr. Platt’s track record transforming research organizations into successful entities, her commitment to operational excellence and innovation, and her extensive experience in expanding product market share in the diagnostics market make her a valuable asset to our team as we move forward with the commercialization of CyPath Lung, our noninvasive test for the early detection of lung cancer,” bioAffinity Technologies President/CEO Maria Zannes said. “We are pleased to welcome Dr. Platt to our Board where we believe her scientific acumen, business leadership and board experience will be influential in driving bioAffinity’s growth and success.”
Dr. Platt was instrumental in two M&A exits for diagnostic companies that were completed in 2022, resulting in a combined value of nearly $1 billion. Dr. Platt was chief operating officer (COO) of Personal Genome Diagnostics, which was acquired by LabCorp for $575 million. She also served as COO at Inivata Inc., where she led operations in support of a next-generation sequencing (NGS) liquid biopsy laboratory developed test that was acquired by Neogenomics. Dr. Platt began her career at Quest Diagnostics, assuming progressively greater leadership responsibilities before becoming vice president of Genomic Solutions at Molecular Pathology Laboratory Network, which provides comprehensive services and innovative technologies in laboratory medicine to clients nationwide in pathology groups, hospitals, medical laboratories, and physician groups.
Dr. Platt currently serves as the managing director and CEO of Pictor Limited, where she is leading a turnaround by restructuring and accelerating product development. Under her leadership, the company raised a Series A funding and enhanced the board with expertise from U.S. and international markets. Concurrently, she is president and CEO of BRIDGenomics LLC, a private consulting and contract commercialization firm she founded in 2015 to provide molecular and genomic-based strategies to clients.
In addition to her role on Pictor Limited's board, Dr. Platt has served on the boards of Mobility Health, a biohealth diagnostic company focused on precise, rapid infectious disease testing, and DxTerity, a leader in genomic immune-mediated diagnostic technology that develops easy-to-use, fast and affordable genomic tests for disease diagnosis and monitoring. In addition to her board seats, Dr. Platt has held scientific advisory roles for Roche and Genomics England, and served on several working groups in the diagnostics, regulatory, and genomic areas.
“I am honored to join the bioAffinity Technologies Board of Directors,” Dr. Platt said. “As a molecular and cellular biologist, I appreciate the science behind the CyPath Lung technology and recognize its potential to transform patients’ lives by detecting lung cancer and other lung diseases early when outcomes are better. I look forward to contributing to the growth and success of bioAffinity Technologies as this team continues to innovate and redefine what’s possible in early-stage cancer detection and treatment.”
Dr. Platt replaces Mohsin Y. Meghji, who stepped down from the Board of Directors after serving four years. Meghji’s resignation was for personal reasons and not due to any disagreement with the company or its operations, policies or practices. “We want to thank Mr. Meghji for his valuable contributions to bioAffinity. It has been a pleasure to work with him, and we wish him well on his future endeavors,” Zannes said.
CyPath Lung uses flow cytometry to identify cell populations in patient sputum that indicate malignancy. Automated data analysis developed using proprietary artificial intelligence can help determine if cancer is present or if the patient is cancer-free. CyPath Lung incorporates a fluorescent porphyrin, TCPP, that is preferentially taken up by cancer and cancer-related cells. In a clinical trial, CyPath Lung showed 92% sensitivity, 87% specificity, and 88% accuracy in detecting lung cancer in patients at high risk for the disease who had small lung nodules less than 20 millimeters. Half of all patients in the trial who had cancer were diagnosed in early Stages I or II. Diagnosing and treating early-stage cancer can increase patient survival and improve outcomes.
bioAffinity Technologies addresses the need for noninvasive diagnosis of early-stage cancer, lung diseases, and targeted cancer treatment. The company’s first product, CyPath Lung, is marketed as a laboratory developed test (LDT) by Precision Pathology Laboratory Services, a subsidiary of bioAffinity Technologies. Research and optimization of the company’s platform technologies are conducted in its laboratories at Precision Pathology and The University of Texas at San Antonio.
“Dr. Platt’s track record transforming research organizations into successful entities, her commitment to operational excellence and innovation, and her extensive experience in expanding product market share in the diagnostics market make her a valuable asset to our team as we move forward with the commercialization of CyPath Lung, our noninvasive test for the early detection of lung cancer,” bioAffinity Technologies President/CEO Maria Zannes said. “We are pleased to welcome Dr. Platt to our Board where we believe her scientific acumen, business leadership and board experience will be influential in driving bioAffinity’s growth and success.”
Dr. Platt was instrumental in two M&A exits for diagnostic companies that were completed in 2022, resulting in a combined value of nearly $1 billion. Dr. Platt was chief operating officer (COO) of Personal Genome Diagnostics, which was acquired by LabCorp for $575 million. She also served as COO at Inivata Inc., where she led operations in support of a next-generation sequencing (NGS) liquid biopsy laboratory developed test that was acquired by Neogenomics. Dr. Platt began her career at Quest Diagnostics, assuming progressively greater leadership responsibilities before becoming vice president of Genomic Solutions at Molecular Pathology Laboratory Network, which provides comprehensive services and innovative technologies in laboratory medicine to clients nationwide in pathology groups, hospitals, medical laboratories, and physician groups.
Dr. Platt currently serves as the managing director and CEO of Pictor Limited, where she is leading a turnaround by restructuring and accelerating product development. Under her leadership, the company raised a Series A funding and enhanced the board with expertise from U.S. and international markets. Concurrently, she is president and CEO of BRIDGenomics LLC, a private consulting and contract commercialization firm she founded in 2015 to provide molecular and genomic-based strategies to clients.
In addition to her role on Pictor Limited's board, Dr. Platt has served on the boards of Mobility Health, a biohealth diagnostic company focused on precise, rapid infectious disease testing, and DxTerity, a leader in genomic immune-mediated diagnostic technology that develops easy-to-use, fast and affordable genomic tests for disease diagnosis and monitoring. In addition to her board seats, Dr. Platt has held scientific advisory roles for Roche and Genomics England, and served on several working groups in the diagnostics, regulatory, and genomic areas.
“I am honored to join the bioAffinity Technologies Board of Directors,” Dr. Platt said. “As a molecular and cellular biologist, I appreciate the science behind the CyPath Lung technology and recognize its potential to transform patients’ lives by detecting lung cancer and other lung diseases early when outcomes are better. I look forward to contributing to the growth and success of bioAffinity Technologies as this team continues to innovate and redefine what’s possible in early-stage cancer detection and treatment.”
Dr. Platt replaces Mohsin Y. Meghji, who stepped down from the Board of Directors after serving four years. Meghji’s resignation was for personal reasons and not due to any disagreement with the company or its operations, policies or practices. “We want to thank Mr. Meghji for his valuable contributions to bioAffinity. It has been a pleasure to work with him, and we wish him well on his future endeavors,” Zannes said.
CyPath Lung uses flow cytometry to identify cell populations in patient sputum that indicate malignancy. Automated data analysis developed using proprietary artificial intelligence can help determine if cancer is present or if the patient is cancer-free. CyPath Lung incorporates a fluorescent porphyrin, TCPP, that is preferentially taken up by cancer and cancer-related cells. In a clinical trial, CyPath Lung showed 92% sensitivity, 87% specificity, and 88% accuracy in detecting lung cancer in patients at high risk for the disease who had small lung nodules less than 20 millimeters. Half of all patients in the trial who had cancer were diagnosed in early Stages I or II. Diagnosing and treating early-stage cancer can increase patient survival and improve outcomes.
bioAffinity Technologies addresses the need for noninvasive diagnosis of early-stage cancer, lung diseases, and targeted cancer treatment. The company’s first product, CyPath Lung, is marketed as a laboratory developed test (LDT) by Precision Pathology Laboratory Services, a subsidiary of bioAffinity Technologies. Research and optimization of the company’s platform technologies are conducted in its laboratories at Precision Pathology and The University of Texas at San Antonio.