Sydney-based Clinical Genomics has announced Howard Chandler as its inaugural ‘Emeritus Scientist’.
The company praised Mr Chandler as a pioneer in the field of clinical diagnostics and the inventor and developer of the patient-friendly 'brush' form of faecal immunochemical test (FIT) for bowel cancer screening.
"His technology revolutionised bowel cancer screening and is currently used to test millions of people in the US and Australia," said the company.
Mr Chandler is in returning to the company he co-founded as Enterix in 1997. The company was then taken over by Clinical Genomics in October 2013. As ‘Emeritus Scientist’ Mr Chandler will play a leading role in the development of future technology and products.
CEO Dr Lawrence LaPointe said Clinical Genomics will benefit greatly from Mr Chandler’s appointment.
“Howard has a long standing history in the field of medical diagnostics. His talent to invent incredibly simple solutions to save lives and to make medical decisions easier has benefited millions of people around the world. More recently his work in colorectal cancer screening and monitoring kicked off the wave of modern tests we now see used in screening programs,” said Dr LaPointe. “He will play an important role in shaping our product offerings in the future.”
Mr Chandler invented the world’s first rapid immunoassay test to diagnose the species of snake venom following a bite in the 1970s.
“The development of the original test was a significant advance in the screening of colorectal cancer,” said Mr Chandler. “Coming back into the company as it is expanding internationally and having further success with their ground-breaking blood test for colorectal cancer is very exciting.”
This appointment follows a year of international expansion for Clinical Genomics, most recently in the Asia Pacific region with the announcement of new deals in New Zealand and The Philippines.