Healthcare Industry News: PharmaNetics
News Release - February 1, 2011
Atherotech Diagnostics Lab Taps Mize as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--(Healthcare Sales & Marketing Network)-- Patrick D. Mize, Ph.D., has been appointed as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Atherotech Diagnostics Lab.Dr. Mize comes to Atherotech with more than 30 years of experience in the chemical and medical diagnostics (IVD) industry. His expertise includes product development of immunoassays and coagulation assays, as well as design and synthesis of enzymatic substrates and inhibitors and fluorescent compounds. Dr. Mize commercialized the ENOX test for monitoring enoxaparin and the ECT (Ecarin Clotting Time) test for monitoring direct thrombin inhibitors such as hirudin in point-of-care applications.
Dr. Mize has a strong regulatory and quality background with international experience in project management, design control, agency submissions, and integrating a variety of assay chemistries and instruments. He has served in positions of increasing responsibility at Burroughs Wellcome (Glaxo Smith Kline), Union Carbide Agricultural Products Company, Becton Dickinson, PharmaNetics and Inverness Medical Innovations (Alere). In 2006, Dr. Mize was one of the founders of LaamScience, an entrepreneurial company to commercialize novel self-decontaminating surfaces for personal protective equipment (PPE). He obtained a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Florida Atlantic University and a Ph.D. at Duke University.
As Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Dr. Mize will oversee the regulatory process, develop procedures to ensure regulatory compliance, and direct the company's policies and objectives involving matters of government and regulations. He also leads Atherotech’s clinical trials program to show the utility of the VAP lipid profile for management of lipid disorders.
“Dr. Mize’s résumé shows strong leadership and strategic planning skills in regulatory compliance for all medical affairs activities,” CEO Michael Mullen said. “His addition to Atherotech will undoubtedly position the company for further growth opportunities.”
Atherotech’s History
In 1999, a group of private investors acquired the assets of Birmingham-based Atherotech and the rights to a different kind of cholesterol test, called the Vertical Auto Profile (VAP Test), developed in the early 1990s by Dr. Jere Segrest of the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Atherosclerosis Research Unit. Atherotech patented the advanced lipid profile and to date has performed more than 7.2 million VAP Tests. In 2009, Atherotech Diagnostics Lab expanded its testing panels to include more than a dozen cardiovascular and metabolic tests and its mission to include disease management.
Atherotech’s VAP Test
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., killing more than 1 million people each year. Atherotech’s VAP Cholesterol Test for patients at risk for cardiovascular disease helps clinicians improve the detection, evaluation and treatment of heart disease.
The VAP Test is the only expanded lipid test that routinely reports directly measured LDL-C, which is included in the 22 reported cholesterol components — all at no additional cost. These components include Lp(a), apoB, apoA1, and the apoB/apoA1 ratio, making the VAP Test the only lipid profile that routinely reports all three lipid parameters — LDL, non-HDL and apoB — considered necessary by the American Diabetes Association and American College of Cardiology. The comprehensive lipid profile also identifies markers of metabolic syndrome, often associated with early diabetes.
The test is available nationwide and covered by most insurance providers, including Medicare and Medicaid. Forbes.com identified the VAP Test as one of “Ten Ways to Live Longer” and the Wall Street Journal recognized it as one of “Five Tests Worth Paying For.”
For information on the VAP Cholesterol Test, visit www.atherotech.com or call 877.901.8510. Connect with Atherotech at www.Twitter.com/Atherotech and www.Facebook.com/Atherotech.
About Atherotech Diagnostics Lab
Atherotech is a CLIA-certified clinical reference laboratory and cardiodiagnostic company focusing on cardiometabolic tests, including the company’s patented VAP Cholesterol Test, which reports the cholesterol content of all lipids, components and subclasses. The VAP Test is the first cholesterol profile to comply with updated National Cholesterol Education Program ATP III recommendations for direct LDL measurement, which is accurate with non-fasting samples. The VAP Test is available through national and regional diagnostic laboratories and is reimbursed by many of the largest private insurers as well as Medicare. For more information, visit www.atherotech.com.
Source: Atherotech
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