DNA Script, a leader in Enzymatic DNA Synthesis (EDS), today announced the appointment of Don Kania, Ph.D. as Chairman of the Board of Directors, Catherine Moukheibir as Audit Chair and Bonnie Anderson as independent new members of the board. With decades of life sciences experience among the three of them, they will play a key role in steering the company’s strategy to deploy its SYNTAX Platform and the EDS technology.
“I firmly believe DNA Script’s EDS technology will have a profound impact on genomics and synthetic biology. The life sciences industry is in the process of revolutionizing our world, starting with healthcare and expanding into other markets. This is an incredibly exciting time for the company,” Kania said. “I have spent my career helping companies grow into life science leaders. I am looking forward to applying my experience and working closely with the Board and the company’s leadership and founders to expand the applications of EDS and grow DNA Script’s DNA-on-demand offerings.”
For over thirty years, Kania has been an influential member of the life sciences industry. Notably, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of FEI Company from 2006 until 2016, when the company was sold to Thermo-Fisher for $4.2 billion. Kania currently advises several startups and serves on a number of boards that span the life sciences and nonprofit sectors.
Moukheibir brings over 30 years of leadership experience in finance, capital markets and life sciences to DNA Script. Most recently, she was the chair and CEO of MedDay Pharmaceuticals. She currently serves on the Board of Directors at Asceneuron, Biotalys, CMR Surgical, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Inc and Orphazyme. Prior to her current roles, she has held senior management positions at several European biotech companies following an initial career in strategy consulting and investment banking in Boston and London.
Anderson’s career spans over 40 years in regulated diagnostics and life science markets. She co-founded Veracyte in 2008 and served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board until June 1, 2021, when she assumed the role of Executive Chairwoman. She led Veracyte’s initial public offering in 2013, spearheaded commercialization of its market-leading products, and was the architect of the company’s vision to become a global enterprise with a growing menu of advanced genomic diagnostics tests on its own distributed instrument platform.
“DNA Script is at a pivotal point with the targeted commercial launch of our SYNTAX Platform,” said Thomas Ybert, DNA Script co-founder and CEO. “We now have a first, initial demonstration of the true promise of EDS technology — the ability to produce quick, clean, and high quality synthetic DNA in a benchtop solution to expedite life science discoveries. This is only the beginning; we have barely started. As we continue to expand the company and explore what is possible with the EDS technology, the new board members’ partnership and counsel will be invaluable.”