MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire -06/18/12)- Mr. Michel Saucier, Chairman of the Board of Directors of CepMed, the Center of Excellence in Personalized Medicine, is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Manon Decelles, CPA, CGA as Chief Executive Officer. Coincident with Ms. Decelles' arrival, Dr. Clarissa Desjardins, outgoing CEO, is leaving to manage a start-up biotechnology company.

Ms. Decelles has 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and a proven track record in key areas of business including finance, marketing and business development. Together with this experience Ms. Decelles brings an extensive business network that will enable CepMed in bringing together medical, scientific and business communities to promote innovation and commercialization in personalized medicine. Prior to joining CepMed, Ms. Decelles was Director of Business Development and Acquisitions at Sanofi, a global and diversified healthcare leader, where she was responsible for the Canadian affiliate's business development activities, including in and out licensing, divestitures as well as company acquisitions. In this capacity, Ms. Decelles developed and implemented a Strategic Business Development Plan and review process that guided Sanofi's Canadian strategy. Previously, Ms. Decelles held roles of increasing responsibility in finance, marketing and business development at Marion Merrell Dow, Hoechst Marion Roussel and Aventis. Ms. Decelles is an active member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Healthcare Licensing Association.

Ms. Decelles first studied in science - microbiology at the University of Sherbrooke. She later obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Montreal, HEC and is also a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA).

"As Cepmed approaches its fifth year of operations, we believe that Manon's background and experience is perfectly suited to take Cepmed to the next level. Going forward, we expect to increasingly attract foreign investment in our centre for translational studies, commercialize the results of our studies and implement personalized medicine tests and strategies into our healthcare system. We welcome Manon to her new position and are confident that she can take on this challenge." - Mr. Michael Saucier, Chairman of the Board, CepMed

The Board extends its best wishes to Clarissa in her new endeavors and its deep gratitude for her contributions to CepMed and the advancement of personalized medicine in Canada. "Her leadership of our public-private partnerships and innovative knowledge translation activities including a Personalized Medicine Portal and the creation of physician's expert panels in cardiology, oncology and family medicine have created an awareness of personalized medicine and its benefits across the country." - Dr. Jean Claude Tardif, Director Montreal Heart Institute Research Centre

About CepMed

Founded by the Montreal Heart Institute and Genome Quebec in 2008, CepMed is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the science and practice of personalized medicine. It is a Centre of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR) funded by the Canadian Government, Genome Quebec and industry partners including Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Novartis and Merck. Cepmed's initiatives are designed to promote and enable personalized medical treatment, based on the use of molecular information in clinical decision making, in particular to improve the efficacy and safety of drug therapy. Cepmed participates in several multi-million dollar public-private partnerships (PPP) in translational medicine that incorporate pharmacogenomics into Phase III clinical trials or studies of marketed drugs with partners including Roche and Servier. These partnerships leverage the expertise and capacities of The Beaulieu Saucier Pharmacogenics (PGx) Centre, The Montreal Heart Institute Coordinating Centre (MHICC) and The Montreal Heart Institute Biobank. Generating several millions of dollars in investment these partnerships have established a unique and world class centre for translational clinical research. In addition CepMed is collaborating and partnering with Canadian stakeholders in personalized medicine including physicians, patients, governments, industry and investors to enable the clinical development and implementation of personalized medicine while creating commercial opportunities for Canadian companies.

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CepMed Appoints New CEO