FREMONT, Calif., Sept. 24, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zyomyx, Inc., an innovator in the development and commercialization of proprietary diagnostic platforms, has appointed Jennifer McFarlane as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Ms. McFarlane brings 25 years of experience in finance and global investment banking. In total, she has helped raise more than US$600 million, primarily for early-stage companies, and close approximately 15 mergers and acquisitions (M&A). At Zyomyx, Ms. McFarlane will be responsible for financial operations, investor relations and capital raising.
Prior to joining Zyomyx, Ms. McFarlane was CFO at LanzaTech, where she built infrastructure to support the company's initial sales on three continents. Previous positions also include CEO of Astia, a nonprofit accelerator focused on high-growth, women-led startups; Executive Director of Southern Pacific Petroleum, a public energy technology company in Australia; and Vice President of Investment Banking at Salomon Brothers, now Citigroup. Ms. McFarlane has also worked with the Barents Group of KPMG Consulting, providing strategic advice and M&A services to corporations and governments across seven emerging economies.
"Jennifer's experience working in emerging markets and with public- and private-sector companies will be a tremendous asset," said Peter Wagner, Zyomyx's CEO. "She will undoubtedly help drive our commercial success, particularly as we prepare to launch our CD4 test in Africa and elsewhere."
Zyomyx is developing a novel CD4 test that can determine – in just 10 minutes – whether HIV/AIDS patients need to initiate lifesaving treatment and monitor progress. Unlike the current standard for CD4 testing, Zyomyx's test is designed to work in both low-resource and high-resource settings. With this design, the company's test can help improve access to CD4 testing and to antiretroviral therapy for the 7 million HIV patients in need of treatment.
The test uses Zyomyx's patented cell stacking technology, which is easy to use, affordable and provides a simple visual read out of results. Future adaptations of this platform could drastically change the accessibility of cell counting tests across a wide range of diagnostic and research applications.
"I'm delighted to be joining Zyomyx's team at this exciting time," Ms. McFarlane said. "The company's cutting-edge CD4 test could revolutionize the HIV testing and treatment landscape, and its novel cell-stacking technology has tremendous potential beyond HIV/AIDS."
Ms. McFarlane, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, has an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and a BSc (Biochemistry) and LLB (Law Degree) from the University of New South Wales.
About Zyomyx, Inc.
Zyomyx, Inc., a privately held diagnostics company based in Fremont, California, is an innovator in the development and commercialization of proprietary diagnostic platforms. The Zyomyx product development infrastructure and suite of proprietary assay and surface technologies are ideally suited for the development of point-of-care diagnostic products. Zyomyx's immediate focus is an advanced but simple and inexpensive CD4 T-cell point-of-care test that will be launched globally and is specially configured to meet the needs of developing countries.
For more information, please visit http://www.zyomyx.com.