Adaptive Biotechnologies Strengthens Expertise and Diversity of Board of Directors with Appointments of Leslie Trigg and Katey Owen

SEATTLE, March 17, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Adaptive Biotechnologies Corporation (Nasdaq: ADPT), a commercial stage biotechnology company that aims to translate the genetics of the adaptive immune system into clinical products to diagnose and treat disease, today announced the appointments of Leslie Trigg and Katey Owen, Ph.D. to its Board of Directors effective immediately. The collective commercial and scientific expertise of these industry leaders will strengthen Adaptive’s ability to execute against its open-ended growth story. The company also announced that Eric Dobmeier and David Goel will retire from the Board after long-standing tenures.

“I am excited to welcome Leslie and Katey to our Board during this pivotal period of commercial expansion and scientific innovation. Diversity of thought, perspectives, and experience is essential as we seek to transform clinical care in many diagnostic and therapeutic areas,” said Chad Robins, chief executive officer of Adaptive Biotechnologies. “I’d like to thank Eric and David for the invaluable roles they played to help position Adaptive as a leader in immune medicine, as well as their guidance during the transition from a private to public company.”

Leslie’s expertise will be instrumental in the commercial adoption of Adaptive’s products into the clinical setting. She has served as Chief Executive Officer of Outset Medical since 2014, where she has pioneered disruptive technology transformation in the kidney dialysis space. With rapidly growing revenue across several market segments, Outset completed a successful public offering in 2020. Prior to Outset Medical, Leslie held executive commercial strategy roles at numerous med tech companies that went public or were acquired, including Pro-Duct Health, FoxHollow, AccessClosure, and Lutonix. She received her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and her MBA from the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley.

Katey’s expertise in developing late-stage biologics and vaccines at the Gates Foundation and Merck will help guide Adaptive’s expansion into new therapeutic areas. As Director at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr. Owen has end-to-end responsibility for investments in diseases that impact a billion people on the planet. She also facilitates regular interaction between Bill Gates and the CEOs of pharmaceutical organizations to achieve global health goals.  Prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry, she carried out academic research on influenza at the National Institute for Medical Research in Mill Hill, London. She earned her Ph.D. in molecular virology from Purdue University.