Azzur Labs Strengthens National Foothold with New Leadership and Testing Capabilities in Chicago and Raleigh

Azzur Labs Establishes New Location in Chicago under the Direction of Cecil Runyon and Appoints Jorge Marques Signes, PhD, Senior Director of Raleigh-Based Operation, specializing in cell and gene therapy

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Azzur Group, LLC

Aug 02, 2021, 13:19 ET

HATBORO, Pa., Aug. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Azzur Labs, an Azzur Group company, today announces the establishment of its latest operation, based in Chicago under the leadership of Cecil Runyon, Senior Director. The microbiology and analytical lab specializing in GxP services for health and life sciences clients also announces the appointment of Jorge Marques Signes, PhD, as Senior Director of its Raleigh-based operation.

Azzur Labs, headquartered in Lehigh Valley, PA, will be opening its Chicago laboratory in Q3 2021 to meet the growing demand for professional analytical testing and consulting services for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and healthcare industries in the Windy City.

Cecil Runyon brings to Azzur Labs more than 17 years of experience and will oversee all operations and client relations for the Chicago operation.

"I'm very excited to be joining the Azzur team during this time of growth for the company," said Cecil. "I look forward to expanding our capabilities in the Midwest to better serve our customers and collaborating with our numerous teams to build upon the One Azzur philosophy."

Prior to joining Azzur Labs, Cecil spent several years in the pharmaceutical, medical device, and cosmetic industries. He holds a master of business administration degree from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management, a bachelor of arts degree in biological science from Eastern Illinois University, and an associates degree in business management from Lake Land College. He is an active member of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM).

Azzur Labs Raleigh, also announces today the appointment of Jorge Marques Signes as Senior Director.

Azzur Labs established its Raleigh operation in November 2018 to meet the growing demand for full-scale microbiology and GxP laboratory services in Research Triangle Park (RTP). In his new role, Jorge will oversee all operations for Azzur Labs Raleigh, as well as concentrating on consolidating Azzur's presence in the RTP area by keeping high quality customer-centric microbiology and environmental monitoring services and developing new offerings to support cell and gene therapy companies.

"Joining Azzur labs during this expansion moment is a great opportunity," said Jorge. "Our goal is to help our customers become game-changing partners by adding expert skills on all the necessary assays to characterize a gene therapy product. Azzur Labs, along with the other members of the Azzur family (consulting, Azzur Cleanrooms on Demand^™, and Azzur Training Center), will be positioned as a strategic one-stop shop to develop, produce, and commercialize products in the exciting field of precision medicine."

Jorge brings to Azzur Labs Raleigh more than 15 years of experience in cell and molecular biology. He holds a doctorate in molecular biology from the University of Valencia (Spain) and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Duke University where he specialized in genome stability and immune response. Prior to joining Azzur Labs, he helped develop cell and gene therapy products and molecular diagnostic methods using multi-omic approaches (genomics, metabolomics, NMR and bioinformatics). Jorge is an active member of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT).

"Azzur Labs is excited to welcome both Cecil and Jorge as leaders on our team," said Kym Faylor, President of Azzur Labs. "They both play an integral role in our ability to grow alongside our valued clients and the rapid growth of the life science industry."

With full-scale operations in the Lehigh Valley, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Raleigh, and San Diego, Azzur Labs provides professional analytical compliance testing and consultative services for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries.

For more information about Azzur Labs, visit Azzurlabs.com.

About Azzur Group
From Discovery to Delivery^™, Azzur Group provides the life science community full life-cycle solutions for all their GxP needs. From Azzur Cleanrooms on Demand^™ facilities, to our labs, training centers and consulting offices across the nation, Azzur Group helps organizations start, scale, and sustain their growing enterprises. With nearly four decades of service to the life science community, we have become a trusted partner to the world's leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, and healthcare companies, as well as their supply chain.

SOURCE Azzur Group, LLC