Human Longevity, a San Diego company that sequences the genetic information of individuals to improve health treatments, made some big changes to its top leadership.
Cynthia Collins, who was appointed CEO in January, is out after 11 months on the job. Coins2Day has learned she’s joined by several members of the senior management team, including the COO, CMO, and the head of oncology. Co-founder and executive chairman Craig Venter has been re-appointed as chief executive. The decisions were made quietly following a recent board meeting.
A spokesperson for Human Longevity confirmed the departures but declined to provide additional detail. The reason for the shakeup is unclear, but sources tell Coins2Day the changes took place while the company was on the verge of launching a fundraise.
Prior to Human Longevity, Collins was the CEO and general manager of GE Healthcare’s cell therapy division for three years. Collins’ biography page has been removed from the company’s website, and Venter’s title has been updated to reflect his new role.
Human Longevity has raised more than $300 million from investors including GE Ventures, Illumina, and Celgene. Venter, who is one of the first people to sequence the human genome, co-founded the company in effort to discover early genetic markers for a variety of disorders.