GE healthcare Vice president becomes Chairman of LUX biotechnology ltd

Edinburgh, UK - LUX Biotechnology Ltd (LUX) announced today that Dr Jim Brown, the exiting Senior Executive of GE Healthcare is joining the Company as Chairman of the board of directors.

LUX is a specialist developer of luminescent and fluorescent technologies. LUX’s product range includes reagents, bioassays, devices, and certified reference materials. The Company’s strategy is to combine its proprietary bioassay technology and light reporter systems for a variety of applications including drug discovery, research tools, toxicity testing, and diagnostics. As LUX moves toward expanding its operations Dr Ian Sword, former Chairman of the Board, is leaving the company in mutual agreement.

Dr Ian Sword said: “LUX biotech has a strong range of technologies and they have a bright future ahead of them. I am delighted that Dr Brown is joining the team. His strong industry experience will help LUX through its next stage of growth by successfully placing its technologies in the market.”

Dr Brown’s career spans 35 years of prolific research and senior executive positions in Pharmaceutical and Biotech Industry – Inveresk Research, Bioreliance, Mangenta Biotech, Amersham and finally as president of GE Healthcare. He is also a founder member of both BIO in the US and UK Bioindustry Association. Dr Brown is retiring from his position at GE Healthcare but will continue working with a number of companies at senior level.

Dr Brown stated:” I am proud to be invited to become the new Chairman of LUX Biotechnology. At this point in my life, I wish to use my experience to assist exciting young companies, such as LUX to establish their technologies in the world market. The company has excellent technology which the global Bioscience and Health Science industries need. The rationale for my appointment to the Board is that the company believes that I can assist in taking LUX to the next steps by securing international recognition and acceptance of its developments. I am excited to be involved in establishing LUX in the global market and to be part of the next phase of its growth. All the elements for success already exist i.e. The Right Products, A Significant Market Which Will Deliver Double Digit Growth For Many Years To Come and most important of all, A World Class Senior Management Team And Board.”

Commenting on Dr Jim Brown’s appointment Dr Artin Moussavi, CEO OF LUX said: “Jim joins us at a very exciting time. Our foremost goal was to select an experienced Chairman who could support LUX’s evolution into a global technology Company. With Jim, we have succeeded in attracting someone who has a proven track record in developing such a company.

Commenting on Dr Sword’s retirement from LUX Dr Moussavi said: “We are very grateful to Ian who oversaw the development of LUX over a period of two years from early foundations and first round financing. Ian has done a tremendous job. All of us at LUX wish Ian every success in his next endeavour”.

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Additional Information

LUX biotechnology ltd (LUX)
LUX (www.luxbiotech.com) is based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The company was established in 2001 and is wholly privately owned. The Company’s product range includes reagents, bioassays, devices, and certified reference materials. In 2004 LUX launched its first products into the international market. Glowell™ - a range of certified reference standards provide calibration and validation of a wide range of light measuring systems while simultaneously acting as standards for experimental data. LUX bioassays (toxicity assay LuTox™; antifungal drug discovery assay - LuSight™) emit light under test conditions, enabling high throughput and real-time measurement of samples. They are compatible with most analytical equipment and provide cost effective high throughput testing for pharmaceutical, environmental, cosmetic, and food sample testing. Scientists at LUX are the first to develop screens using fungi that express genes isolated from marine organisms making them glow. LUX bioassays are marketed for the early stage drug discovery and they will reduce the risk of failure in later stages of development.
LUX also has advanced biochip and microfluidics technology LAMP™ (Light Activated Microfluidics Platform). This revolutionary nanotechnology enables ultra rapid design and production of biochips with a fully configurable yet precisely controlled microfluidics system. LUX also offers are novel range of reagents for use in fluorescence and luminescence research.

Jim Brown
Dr Brown holds degrees in Microbiology and Parasitology and gained a PhD in Clinical Immunology from Brunel University and the Middlesex Hospital Medical School, London. He worked for 15 years on tropical diseases at the UK Medical Research Council Laboratories in The Gambia, West Africa where he was the Chief Research Officer. In 1985 Dr Brown joined Inveresk Research in Edinburgh as Director of Biotechnology where he established the first pre-clinical and clinical safety evaluation services for biopharmaceuticals in Europe. He is also a founder member of the UK Bioindustry Association and BIO in the United States. Dr Brown has more than 50 major publications, including books and book chapters on the immunology of malaria, Burkitt’s Lymphoma and human monoclonal antibodies.

In 1989, Dr Brown became Managing Director and founder of Bioreliance (formerly Microbiological Associates) and Magenta Biotech (gene therapy) Europe. In 1990 he was then appointed as Executive Vice President of Bioreliance/Magenta in Rockville, Maryland where he was responsible for all global activities for the company.

Dr Brown joined Amersham International in December 1992 and was appointed Vice President, Business Development and Licensing. In 1995 he became President of the International Division responsible for all of the Amersham Biosciences companies and distributors in Latin America, Russia, Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Australia and Asia Pacific, including China. Since then, this part of the business has grown from $14M to $130M. Until September 2005 Dr Brown was also responsible for all of the Commercial Alliances between Amersham Biosciences ( now GE Healthcare ) and Third Parties.

Dr. Brown is also Chairman of Life Therapeutics ,a publicly listed Australian niche therapeutic plasma fractionation company based is Sydney and Atlanta and the United States .He is also Chairman of Genera Biosystems in Melbourne and is a Director of BrainZ (Auckland, New Zealand ), HVD Life Sciences ( Vienna, Athens & Dubai ), Seven Hills Venture Partners ( Edinburgh, Scotland ) and BioSouth ( Atlanta, USA ).