Avellino Exceeds 1 Million COVID-19 Tests in 2020 and Welcomes New Executive Team Hires In 2021

MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--#avellino--Avellino Lab announced today that the company performed over 1 million AvellinoCoV2 COVID-19 tests since March 2020, and has further expanded the company’s executive team to drive additional development and commercial growth in 2021. Chief Scientific Officer, Nazneen Aziz, PhD; and Global Head of Sales and Marketing, Joseph Boyd have joined the growing precision medicine company adding additional scientific and commercial expertise.

Nazneen Aziz, PhD; Chief Scientific Officer

Dr. Aziz will lead the Avellino team in product development and the implementation of new generations of gene sequencing technologies. She brings a wealth of expertise to the Chief Scientific Officer role, including work in clinical medicine, clinical research, and product biotech/biopharma product discovery and development.

Prior to joining Avellino, Dr. Aziz served as the Executive Director of the Kaiser Permanente Research Bank, Senior Vice President and Chief Research Officer at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, and the Director of Molecular Medicine at the College of American Pathologists (CAP). Dr. Aziz led the initiative while at CAP to develop clinical lab standards and proficiency testing for conducting next-generation sequencing tests. She is also a co-author on a highly cited (>9,255) guidance document jointly developed by the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics, Association of Molecular Pathology and CAP on the interpretation of sequence variants.

In her industry career, Dr. Aziz focused on personalized medicine, biomarkers, genetic tests, and development of drugs for cancer and diabetes. Prior to her work in the biotechnology industry, Dr. Aziz was an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children's Hospital, where she discovered new genes and their role in polycystic kidney disease.

Dr. Aziz earned a PhD in molecular genetics and MS in biochemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She received a BA in Biological Sciences from Wellesley College.

Avellino Group Chairman Gene Lee said, “Dr. Aziz is highly regarded in her career across genetic and biotechnology fields – as a professor, researcher, and leader. We are honored to have Dr. Aziz join our team and look forward to the growth in our genetic diagnostic testing and therapy portfolio under her leadership.”

Joseph Boyd, Global Head, Sales and Marketing

Mr. Boyd will lead Avellino’s sales and marketing efforts on a global basis, with an initial emphasis on expanding commercialization in the United States. Joe has over 20 years of global marketing, strategy, product development and general management expertise in biotech, pharmaceutical, and medical device industries. Most recently, Mr. Boyd was the Executive Director and Xiidra Market Development Lead at Novartis Pharmaceuticals, where he successfully led the market development team for the ophthalmic business unit, a key driver of the rapid growth of the Xiidra product after a successful market launch. He also has extensive functional experience in commercial planning, operations, ethics, compliance, and sales leadership.

Avellino CEO and Board Member Jim Mazzo said, “I could not be more excited or feel more fortunate to welcome Joe to our executive team. His analytical and strategic thinking, combined with experience in leading cross-functional teams and the extensive relationships he has built with ophthalmologists and optometrists, will be very critical as our company executes on our technical, clinical, and relational innovations.”

About Avellino

Avellino Lab USA, Inc. is a global leader in gene therapy and molecular diagnostics and is at the forefront of precision medicine for eye care. The company is a member of the California State COVID-19 Testing Taskforce, which is focused on the expansion of CoV2 testing and the reduction of testing turn-around times (TAT). Beyond the AvellinoCoV2 test and AvellinoCoV2 Respiratory tests, Avellino recently will relaunch AvaGen in 2021, the world’s first DNA test to confirm the presence of genetic indicators that are positively associated with corneal dystrophies and keratoconus genetic risk-factors. The company is also developing a broader portfolio of infectious disease diagnostic tests. In addition, the company is also pioneering CRISPR gene editing to manage and potentially cure inherited diseases. Avellino is headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, with operations in Korea, Japan, China, and the UK.

To learn more about Avellino, please visit www.avellino.com.

Joe Boyd
+1 (650) 396-3743
joseph.boyd@avellino.com