Following on the heels of last month’s disappointing IPO, Helicos BioSciences is making a new addition to its executive suite: Pfizer veteran Patrice Milos. Milos, most recently the executive director of Pfizer Global Research and Development, will serve as Helicos’s VP and CSO.
Alan Louie, research director at Health Industry Insights, says the hire is a good one for Helicos. Louie says that Milos’s contacts and her experience in directing Pfizer’s molecular-profiling efforts position her to help Helicos find the best applications for its technology, which aims to increase the speed and accuracy of DNA and RNA analysis by directly sequencing individual molecules. Even with its stellar scientific pedigree (founders include Steve Quake and Eric Lander), the company will need to find its focus to succeed in a space where there are a number of competing technologies and companies and, Louie says, “a lot of ways to get the same answer.”
Helicos could use the help. It initially planned to offer shares at $13 to 15 apiece but cut the price twice; the stock debuted at $9 and closed its first day at $8.47.
