Caris Life Sciences announced today that it appointed former Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) executive Mike Weinstein as EVP & CFO.
Weinstein, a veteran of more than 25 years in finance and life sciences, previously joined as SVP of strategy at Medtronic and was a member of the medtech giant’s executive committee, where he oversaw global strategy for the organization, which included providing counsel and input on business development, capital deployment and overall strategic direction for each of Medtronic’s businesses, according to a news release.
Before Medtronic, Weinstein held the role of managing director at JPMorgan Chase, leading the firm’s healthcare group within equity research.
“We are thrilled to welcome Mike to the Caris team,” Caris chairman & CEO David D. Halbert said in the release. “His passion for our mission, industry experience and strategic thinking will provide strong leadership as we position Caris for the next phase; expanding our offering to include both tissue and blood (measuring all coding genes) across hereditary and acquired variants, resulting in the most comprehensive offering ever.”
Irving, Texas-based Caris earlier this year announced an $830 million growth equity round at a $7.8 billion post-money valuation. The company develops molecular profiling offerings, including blood-based monitoring for patients before, during and after treatment for cancer.
The company’s pan-cancer, circulating nucleic acids sequencing (cNAS) assay combines comprehensive molecular analysis and serial monitoring, making it what the company calls the “most powerful liquid biopsy assay ever developed.”
Caris also uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms to develop a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of cancer to help identify and predict patient response to therapy.
“I am delighted to join Caris at such an exciting time,” Weinstein said. “In my 25-plus years, I’ve seen few companies with Caris’ potential to grow and to change the way we diagnose, monitor, treat and care for hundreds of thousands of cancer patients each year.”