Watertown, Massachusetts-based Sherlock said Exner will serve as a member of its executive leadership team. His responsibilities include driving the company’s scientific research strategy.
“Maurice’s expertise in clinical diagnostics R&D will be invaluable as we ramp up development of our affordable, accurate and accessible point-of-need tests,” said CEO Bryan Dechairo. “With deep experience in infectious diseases and molecular diagnostics, Maurice will help us further expand our suite of novel proprietary technologies and enable breakthroughs in decentralized sample prep.”
Dechairo added that Exner’s role includes innovations in CRISPR, isothermal amplification and AI drive rapid assay design and development.
Exner brings to Sherlock more than 20 years of experience in global research and development leadership and strategy. He spent time across organizations including Thermo Fisher Scientific, Hologic, Abbott and Quest Diagnostics. Most recently, Exner served as VP of global R&D at Thermo Fisher’s genetic sciences organization. There, he led development teams that launched an number of life science and diagnostic products, including COVID-19 diagnostics.
At Hologic, Exner served as VP of R&D, assay development and clinical affairs. His track record includes innovations leading to more than 40 FDA approvals or cleared product launches to date, Sherlock said.
“Sherlock has innovated a truly novel suite of chemistries and platforms, leveraging the power of CRISPR, synthetic biology and AI to transform the future of diagnostics,” Exner said. “I am extremely excited about applying my experience to help lead this very talented scientific research team to seize the opportunity to do something no one has been able to do – bring together speed, accuracy and accessibility to deliver the future of point-of-need diagnostics.”