Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) established a scientific advisory board to help lead the company’s development of new products.
The Waltham, Mass.-based lab instruments maker said the board will "formalize the two-way exchange of technological information" between itself and representatives from health, science and educational institutions.
Thermo Fisher‘s new board includes Stanford University biochemist Ronald Davis, Harvard Medical School cell biologist Steven Gygi, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute oncologist Dr. William Hahn, University of Utah pathologist David Hillyard, Thermo Fisher CEO Marc Casper and MIT biology professor Tyler Jacks, who also sits on the company’s board of directors.
Casper said the board will be "invaluable" in charting the company’s course for future innovation.
Despite the planned closure of an East Providence, R.I., facility in June 2011, Thermo Fisher has been in a stage of growth. The company’s board of directors authorized it to buy back an additional $750 million worth of its own stock in September; a month earlier, the company announced the debut of a technology center in Shanghai, aimed at serving its life science, environmental monitoring and consumer product safety businesses in China.