Rehovot, Israel - November 3, 2009, Rehovot, Israel - Rosetta Genomics, Ltd. announced the appointment of Kenneth A. Berlin to the position of president and chief executive officer.
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Prior to his appointment as president and CEO of Rosetta Genomics, since July 2007, Mr. Berlin served as worldwide General Manager at cellular and molecular cancer diagnostics developer Veridex, LLC, a Johnson & Johnson company.
Under his leadership the organization grew to over 100 employees, and he spearheaded the launch of three cancer diagnostic products, the acquisition of its cellular diagnostics partner, and delivered significant growth in sales as Veridex transitioned from a research and development entity to a commercial provider of oncology diagnostic products and services. During Mr. Berlin's tenure, Veridex received numerous awards including recognition from the Cleveland Clinic and Prix Galien for the use of its innovative CellSearch technology in the fight against cancer.[break]
Mr. Berlin joined Johnson & Johnson in 1994 and served as corporate counsel for six years. He led and participated on the legal team that oversaw several mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and commercial transactions across Johnson & Johnson. He then held positions of increasing responsibility within Johnson & Johnson and a number of its subsidiary companies.
From 2001 until 2004 he served as vice president, licensing and new business development in the pharmaceuticals group, and from 2004 until 2007 was worldwide vice president, franchise development, Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics. He has been responsible for numerous licensing and/or research collaboration deals in metabolic disease, cardiovascular disease, oncology, CNS and women's health, including the ex-U.S. license to Millennium Pharmaceutical's VELCADE, a first-in-class, oncology therapeutic with reported sales outside the U.S. in excess of $750 million in 2008.
Mr. Berlin holds an A.B. degree from Princeton University and a J.D. from the University of California Los Angeles School of Law. He began his career as an attorney at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York City. He has received several awards including the 2004 Pharmaceutical Achievement Award-Licensing Deal of the Year Finalist. He is a member of the board of directors of the Central and South Jersey Chapter of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. ■