RainDance Technologies Inc. today announced the addition of Alan Sherr as VP and chief intellectual property counsel.
Sherr will lead the growth and management of Raindance’s IP portfolio, elements of which comprise the company’s "disruptive microdroplet platform technology" used in single-molecule and single-cell analysis.
Before joining Raindance, Sherr held the same role at Cambridge, Mass.-based DNA molecule sequencing firm Helicos BioSciences Corp. (NSDQ:HLCS). Helicos struggled through the past year, losing ground in January in the race for more affordable genome sequencing as competitor Illumina Inc. (NSDQ:ILMN) broke a significant pricing threshold. The company’s president resigned a month later, and in April, NASDAQ Marketplace regulators threatened to de-list Helicos shares unless the firm gets its stock price above $1 by October. A month after the warning letter arrived, the genetics technology company laid off half its workforce as it exited the drug-discovery business.
Sherr’s experience will come into play at Raindance as the Lexington, Mass.-based company said he will have a central role in the pursuit of innovative future applications for the Company’s microdroplet technology. The new VP will also lead the company’s IP strategy with respect to licensing partnerships and strategic collaborations.