Broken String Biosciences appoints Laurence Reid and Brad Crutchfield to its Board of Directors 

• Laurence Reid joins as Chairman, previously Decibel Therapeutics, Warp Drive Bio, Alnylam, and Third Rock Ventures
• Brad Crutchfield appointed as Non-Executive Director, previously 10x Genomics, QIAGEN, Illumina, and Bio-Rad Laboratories

Cambridge, UK, 23 September 2024: Broken String Biosciences (“Broken String”), a genomics company enabling development of the next generation of more precise, safe, and effective cell and gene therapies, today announced the appointments of Laurence Reid, PhD, as Chairman, and Brad Crutchfield as Non-Executive Director (NED) of its Board of Directors. 

Bringing extensive commercial and leadership expertise to the Board, Laurence and Brad will play a pivotal role in providing strategic oversight as Broken String prepares for its next phase of commercial growth. Working closely with CEO Felix Dobbs, PhD, they will help advance the company’s INDUCE-seq^® product offering to address the significant unmet needs of its global customer base within the expanding cell and gene therapy market.

Laurence is a seasoned biotech entrepreneur with a track record of leadership and company-building success within the sector, previously CEO at Decibel Therapeutics (acquired by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals) and Warp Drive Bio (merged with Revolution Medicines). He served as entrepreneur in residence at Third Rock Ventures, focused on novel drug discovery and development opportunities. Prior to this, he held C-level executive positions at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Ensemble Discovery and Millennium Pharmaceuticals. Laurence now applies his expertise in an advisory capacity, serving on the boards of a number of biotech companies. He is also a board member at The Possible Zone and an advisor to Life Science Cares and Mount Auburn Hospital.

Brad brings nearly 40 years’ experience in the development and commercialization of life science tools to Broken String’s Board. Most recently, he served as Chief Commercial Officer of 10x Genomics, building the global sales and support organization that today drives over $600 million in business, and working closely with the CEO to support the Company through its IPO in 2019. Previously, Brad has held several leadership positions, including as Senior Vice President, Life Sciences at QIAGEN, Vice President and General Manager, EMEA at Illumina, and President of the Life Science Group at Bio-Rad Laboratories. He currently sits on the Boards of Pixelgen AB, Partillion Inc and S2 Genomics, in addition to serving as Senior Advisor for Alamar Biosciences. 

“Laurence and Brad bring distinguished careers and a strong history of driving impact and growth within our industry. It is a privilege to welcome them to the Broken String team,” said Felix Dobbs, PhD, CEO of Broken String Biosciences. “As we push forward with our ambitious growth strategy and work to achieve our commercial goals, their expertise will be instrumental in shaping our strategic direction.“

Laurence Reid, PhD, Chair of the Board, Broken String Biosciences, commented: “The promise of therapies based on genome editing is fundamentally linked to understanding the desired genome modifications relative to the undesired modifications. INDUCE-seq is an extremely promising technology that will enable therapeutic developers to bring their cutting-edge treatments to market with a new standard of precision. I’m pleased to be joining the Company and eager to work closely with the leadership team to develop a comprehensive commercial strategy and support the Company in its ongoing growth.”

Brad Crutchfield, Non-Executive Director at Broken String Biosciences, commented: “Cell and gene therapies hold immense promise for transforming disease treatment, and Broken String’s solution will be instrumental in helping companies accelerate and de-risk their drug development pipelines. By enabling the development of these next-generation therapies with precision and safety, we can enhance enterprise value for pharma and biotech firms. I look forward to leveraging my experience in bringing innovative life science tools to market to help position the company’s offerings for success in this rapidly evolving field.”