CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Thrive Earlier Detection Corp., a company dedicated to extending and saving lives by incorporating earlier cancer detection into routine medical care, today announced the appointment of David J. Daly as its chief executive officer (CEO) and member of the board of directors, effective August 19, 2019. Dave succeeds interim CEO, Steven J. Kafka, Ph.D., who will assume the role of executive chairman of the company’s board of directors.

“I cannot imagine a stronger leader to take the helm of Thrive and our ambitious mission,” said Steven J. Kafka, Ph.D., partner at Third Rock Ventures. “Dave brings high energy with a passion for our company mission and a track record of building outstanding teams, crafting pioneering strategies for novel molecular diagnostic products, and delivering business results. His deep experience and credibility in our industry, coupled with his ability to engage across strategy, commercialization, R&D, operations and people, position him extraordinarily well to lead our company.”

“I am excited to join Thrive and work with our board, founders and colleagues in pursuit of our core mission to extend and save lives by incorporating earlier detection of cancer into routine medical care,” said Mr. Daly. “When found early, cancer is often effectively treated or even cured. We are taking a highly differentiated approach with CancerSEEK, a right-sized multianalyte liquid biopsy platform, which we will combine with an AI-powered data service to build a learning loop that enhances the ways in which we partner with physicians and patients to improve earlier detection. We have fully enrolled the DETECT study, the first prospective interventional study of its kind being conducted in partnership with Geisinger and Johns Hopkins University, and we are deep into planning for our Registration Trial. I am thrilled to be a part of this mission.”

Mr. Daly joins Thrive with more than 25 years of executive leadership experience in molecular diagnostics, where he contributed to the design and implementation of enterprise-level strategic initiatives while leading significant operations. His broad experience ranges from startups to large-scale commercial organizations. Dave comes to Thrive from Illumina, where he was the senior vice president and general manager of commercial operations for the Americas region. In this capacity, he played a key role in the company’s long-range planning process and helped to accelerate adoption of the company’s flagship NovaSeq sequencing platform. Previously, Mr. Daly was general manager and chief commercial officer at Foundation Medicine, where he was responsible for all commercial functions, including sales, marketing, client services, payer relations and medical affairs. In this capacity, he drove growth across the company’s portfolio of molecular diagnostic products across a number of novel market segments. Previously, he led the oncology business unit at Life Technologies, served as chief commercial officer at Clarient, and held roles at Roche Diagnostics and Abbott Laboratories.

About Thrive Earlier Detection Corp.

Thrive Earlier Detection Corp. is a healthcare company focused on incorporating earlier cancer detection into routine medical care to extend and save lives. Thrive is developing CancerSEEK, a liquid biopsy test that is designed to detect many cancers at earlier stages of disease that will serve as the core of its integrated cancer information offering. CancerSEEK is designed to be administered to healthy adults during routine medical care, such as a yearly checkup, alongside existing cancer screening tools. The company was launched in 2019 by Third Rock Ventures, with funding from additional investors Section 32, Casdin Capital, Biomatics Capital, BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners, The Invus Group, Exact Sciences, and others. For more information, please visit www.thrivedetect.com.