Ex-Kinetic Concepts CEO Catherine Burzik to chair VitaPath
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Catherine Burzik, who previously headed up wound care firm Kinetic Concepts, has been appointed chair of genomic testing specialist VitaPath Genetics. Ms Burzik left Kinetic early this year (www.clinica.co.uk, 29 December 2011), following the completion of its acquisition by private equity firm Apax Partners in November (www.clinica.co.uk, 7 November 2011). She has also served as president of Applied Biosystems and held senior executive positions at Eastman Kodak and Johnson & Johnson. Privately-held VitaPath (Foster City, California) specialises in investigating the "vitanome", a subset of genomic information that plays an important role in how people metabolise vitamins. The company's goal is to identify how genetic variations in vitamin-responsive genes can lead to specific diseases, and how these can be treated with vitamin therapy. The firm's first test identifies women at the highest risk of having children with spina bifida, which may be prevented by taking folic acid before pregnancy; the product is expected to be offered in doctors' offices in 2013.