Appointment brings extensive experience to lead commercial operations and accelerate growth in key global markets
Cambridge, UK, 24 July 2024: Ƶ (“Broken String”), a genomics company driving development of the next generation of more precise, safe, and effective cell and gene therapies, today announced it has appointed Steve Becker as Chief Commercial Officer. An experienced global life sciences executive, Steve will guide the expansion of the Company’s commercial operations and implement a robust go-to-market strategy for its Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS)-based DNA break-mapping platform, INDUCE-seq®, as the Company looks to strengthen its position across key markets.
Following the close of its $15M Series A funding round in 2023, Broken String has been focused on delivering an ambitious expansion strategy and revenue growth, including several high-profile leadership appointments. Further bolstering the executive team, Steve will direct the commercialization strategy for the INDUCE-seq platform to ensure it meets the unique needs of the emerging cell and gene therapy market, including development of a scalable ‘Platform as a Service’ offering and extension of the technology’s capabilities beyond gene-editing. He will lead the global sales and marketing teams, business development function, and technical support operations, including building the Company’s US commercial operations to nurture its growing network of customers and commercial partners.
Steve is a renowned leader in the industry, with over 30 years’ experience managing diverse teams to develop scalable market development strategies, across start-ups and multi-national organizations. He has successfully launched numerous clinical molecular diagnostics assays and spearheaded strategic growth initiatives for premier life science tools companies. He joins Broken String from Thermo Fisher Scientific, where he led the licensing and commercial supply channel for the Genetic Sciences and Clinical Oncology NGS divisions, responsible for building commercial partnerships and managing large contract deals to expand the Company’s global customer base. Prior to this, he held executive level positions at Quest Diagnostics, Athena Diagnostics, Inc. and RainDance Technologies, in addition to leadership roles at Agilent Technologies and GE Healthcare.
Steve Becker, CCO, Ƶ, commented: “What attracted me to Ƶ was its game-changing technology and talented team of dedicated pioneers changing the way we look at cell and gene therapy development. The Company is at the forefront of the field, supporting developers to ensure these transformative treatments can become a safe reality for patients.” He added: “I’m keen to hit the ground running as part of the leadership team, to build robust partnerships and create an exceptional customer experience. I’m excited about the role we will play in accelerating broad accessibility of cell and gene therapies that will profoundly impact human health.”
Felix Dobbs PhD, CEO, Ƶ, said: “We’re delighted that Steve is joining us to lead the Company’s commercial activities based out of Boston MA. As we enter our next stage of commercial growth and focus on establishing broad adoption of the INDUCE-seq platform, Steve’s support will be pivotal in executing the successful launch of our commercial offering, as well as establishing strong partnerships with leading academic and industry players in the genomics and cell & gene therapy markets.”
To learn more about Ƶ, please visit
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