NATICK, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Mercy BioAnalytics, Inc., a pioneer in extracellular vesicle-based liquid biopsies for the early detection of cancer, today announced that Dawn Mattoon, PhD, has assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer and a member of the company’s Board of Directors, transitioning from her prior role as Chief Operating Officer as part of the company’s succession planning. Paul Blavin has transitioned from his CEO role to Vice Chairman of the Board.
“We founded Mercy to solve the inherent challenges in others’ use of scarce circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), which has not been able to reliably detect cancer at its earliest stages,” said Blavin. “At the same time, we created a unique culture that emphasizes humility, collaboration and a sense of urgency to create better tools with a transformational approach. It has been an honor to lead this exceptional company and I am excited to hand the reigns to a remarkable leader with the experience and passion to lead Mercy to clinical and commercial impact. Dawn joins the ranks of a very small group of women leading game-changing diagnostics companies. I look forward to continuing to contribute to Mercy’s mission in my role as Vice Chairman.”
“I am grateful for the opportunity to lead this pioneering organization in realizing our mission to save lives and relieve suffering through the early detection of cancer. In my seven months with the company, I have been consistently impressed with the progress that has been made by our committed team, Board and advisors in advancing our innovative Mercy Halo test portfolio through the conduct of exceptionally rigorous early science and data-based decision-making,” said Dr. Mattoon. “I have been blessed in my career to be part of building several thriving businesses around novel products with real impact; Mercy stands out among peer companies and I am honored to lead the team in realizing the promise of reliable early cancer detection.”
Dr. Mattoon has served as COO of Mercy BioAnalytics since July 2022. In her nearly 20-year career, she has built a track record of delivering top and bottom-line growth as a leader in research and development, strategy, commercialization, and general management for a broad range of innovative proteomic and genomic companies such as Quanterix Corporation (Nasdaq: QTRX), Invitrogen, Life Technologies, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO), and Cell Signaling Technologies. She holds a PhD in molecular genetics from Yale University, where she also completed her postdoctoral fellowship. Dr. Mattoon joins the ranks of a very small group of women leading game-changing diagnostics companies.
Mr. Blavin is co-founder of Mercy BioAnalytics and served as its CEO from March 2020 through February 2023. Prior to Mercy, his 30-year career in finance encompassed tenures as President of insurance holding company First Mercury Financial Corporation; co-founder of PWB Value Partners, LP, an investment partnership managing $2 billion in assets; and investment banker with Citibank and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. He is an active philanthropist having established a number of successful programs benefitting underserved populations. He earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Michigan.
ABOUT MERCY BIOANALYTICS
Mercy BioAnalytics, Inc. is on a mission to relieve suffering and save lives through the early detection of cancer. Early-stage cancer is difficult to detect, but when found, is more often amenable to curative therapy. The patented Mercy Halo™ liquid biopsy platform utilizes biomarker co-localization to interrogate highly abundant blood based extracellular vesicles that carry unique cancer signatures from their parent cells. The Mercy Halo™ platform is designed to detect stage I cancer, when it is most treatable, and enhance the quality of life for cancer patients and their families. Mercy’s initial focus is the early detection of ovarian and lung cancers. Ovarian cancer, the most lethal gynecological cancer, typically goes undetected until it is too late to cure. Lung cancer, the number-one cancer killer, takes more lives than breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers combined. For additional information, please visit https://www.mercybio.com.
