Prostatype Genomics AB has recruited Steven Gaal to the role of President of the company's wholly owned subsidiary, Prostatype Genomics Inc. Steven's task will be to establish and launch Prostatype®, the company's genomic test to assess the aggressiveness of prostate cancer in individual patients, in the US market. Steven has over 18 years of experience from leading positions in the sale of cancer diagnostic tools and services and begins his employment with Prostatype Genomics Inc. effective immediately.
Steven comes to Prostatype Genomics Inc. with extensive experience in genomic testing. Steven has held positions in both early stage companies as well as established companies. He has held senior leadership positions with USLABS (acquired by LabCorp), P4Diagnostix and most recently SkylineDx. As VP of Sales at MDxHealth Steven was instrumental in the launch of ConfirmMDx for Prostate Cancer and SelectMDx for Prostate Cancer to US based Urologists.
Prostatype Genomics CEO Fredrik Persson comments: "We have undergone an extensive and careful recruitment process where we had the privilege of meeting many experienced and competent candidates with broad experience from the American market. The first recruitment in the US will be critical to how well we succeed in building the US organization and how quickly we can bring Prostatype® to market. In the end, the choice of Steven was easy, not least given his experience working with prognostic biomarkers in the US and the results he has demonstrated. The recruitment of Steven is, of course, a decisive step in our launch in the USA and thereby a large and important step for Prostatype Genomics' further development."
Steven Gaal says: "It is very exciting to be able to introduce Prostatype® to the US market where there is already widespread and many years of clinical experience with prognostic gene tests for prostate cancer. US based physicians, payers and patients are familiar with prognostic biomarkers, which makes the launch of Prostatype® very exciting. I am confident that my experience from having successfully worked with biomarkers will be an important asset for Prostatype Genomics. I will initially focus on completing the necessary requirements to establish Medicare and 3rd party reimbursement as well as establishing collaboration with a CLIA approved laboratory partner to provide the best in class testing that the Prostatype® test offers”.
"With the board and management's long experience in the US market, we made the decision early on to establish Prostatype® in the USA as an LDT test and to collaborate with an established laboratory partner to accelerate the commercialization process. There are exceptional opportunities to initiate a collaboration with an attractive partner that will benefit both parties. In addition to the size of the US market, reimbursement for prognostic biomarkers has been well established in the US providing a return on investment that is attractive to our investors. The fact that prognostic biomarkers are included in national guidelines and reimbursed by Medicare and most insurance companies, the conditions for its establishment in the USA should be seen as extremely positive”, Fredrik Persson continues.
"In summary, we can state that with the recruitment of Steven Gaal, we have taken an important step towards positioning Prostatype Genomics in the US, where public and private insurance systems already reimburse for similar type testing. Our business model in the USA has already attracted much interest from potential commercial partners and we will step up the work of choosing the right long-term partner. Steven's network and experience will be very important in that work. The commercial risk with the US launch is therefore low, which means that the further process comes with a relatively low price tag, while the commercial upside is considerable," Fredrik Persson concludes.