Frank Witney Joins RareCyte Board of Directors

SEATTLE, Aug. 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- RareCyte, Inc., a provider of globally deployable next-generation automated tools for characterizing and isolating rare cells from liquid biopsies and tissue samples announces that Frank Witney has joined its board of directors.

"We are delighted to welcome Frank to RareCyte's Board.  Frank brings significant market knowledge and business leadership across the diagnostics and the life sciences industries," said Ron Seubert, Chairman and CEO, RareCyte.  "As we continue to grow and provide complete solutions for rare cell analysis, Frank's commercial expertise as well as his understanding of the scientific needs of our customers will be invaluable."

Most recently, Dr. Witney served as President and CEO of Affymetrix, Inc., a leader in genomic and cellular analysis (now part of Thermo Fisher Scientific). Previously, Dr. Witney was President and CEO of Dionex Corp., a market leading ion and high performance liquid chromatography company. Prior to that, Dr. Witney first joined Affymetrix when it acquired Panomics Inc., which he led as President and CEO. Dr. Witney also served as President of PerkinElmer's Drug Discovery Tools division following the acquisition of Packard BioScience in 2001, where he served as President and COO. Dr. Witney also held several leadership positions at Bio-Rad Laboratories.

Dr. Witney was a post-doctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health and earned his Ph.D. in molecular and cell biology from Indiana University and bachelor's degree in microbiology from the University of Illinois. He holds Board positions for PerkinElmer, Inc., Cerus Corporation, Exagen Diagnostics and is currently Chairman for Gyros Protein Technologies AB.

"I am extremely impressed with the technical advancements and commercial progress RareCyte has made," stated Dr. Witney. "Numerous high-profile customers in biopharmaceutical and clinical research organizations have invested in the RareCyte platform and are realizing the value it brings. I am pleased to contribute to the company's rapid growth and bright future."

RareCyte's rare cell liquid and tissue biopsy platform includes the AccuCyte^® blood separation system, the CyteFinder^® high resolution microscopic scanning instrument and the CytePicker^® cell capture device.  The integrated system enables the imaging, analysis and retrieval for downstream characterization of rare single cells. Current applications include circulating tumor cell (CTC) analysis, detection of rare immune cell sup-populations, fetal cell testing and identification of infectious pathogens.

"Frank has an extraordinary track record in building life science companies.  His insights in developing new applications for innovative technologies will be instrumental to RareCyte as it expands its commercial efforts.  We are thrilled Frank will be joining the RareCyte Board," said Robert Shepler, a RareCyte Board member and managing director of Telegraph Hill Partners.

About RareCyte, Inc.

RareCyte is a life science company that offers high-performance easy to use, next-generation tools for the analysis and capture of rare, individual cells from liquid biopsies and tissue samples. RareCyte's systems are used by academic institutions and commercial organizations for a range of applications in oncology, prenatal testing and infectious disease. For more information about RareCyte, visit www.rarecyte.com. 

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SOURCE RareCyte, Inc.

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