Merck's Amelia Wall Warner joins Gentris

US pharmacogenomics and biorepository services company Gentris has appointed Amelia Wall Warner as president.

She joins the Research Triangle, North Carolina-based firm from Merck Research Laboratories, where she most recently served as head of clinical pharmacogenomics and clinical specimen management.

In this role she oversaw all clinical pharmacogenomics projects, oversaw policies and procedures for biosample collection and storage for clinical trial samples, and was the MRL Pharmacogenomics Expert for the Translational Science Research Network.

"I am thrilled to have the opportunity to join the executive management team of Gentris, a company with profound impact on the understanding of the genetic basis for variation in drug response," Warner said.

"Our mission will translate to improved patient response and tolerance of drugs. Gentris is on the forefront of pharmacogenetic research and will be a key strategic partner for pharmaceutical companies and academic researchers working to understand why patient responses vary with similar drug exposure."

In her new role at Gentris Warner will its US operations and lead the development of new service offerings, and develop scientific education and training programmes for biobanking and pharmacogenomics.

Rick Williams, Gentris CEO, said, "We are pleased that Dr Amelia Wall Warner, one of the top global leaders in biospecimen and pharmacogenomic innovation, has joined the Gentris leadership team as president.

“With her extensive experience in drug development, she will play a key role in helping Gentris to further integrate clinical genomics into its scientific programmes that support pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies."