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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Helix Expands Operations with Denver, Colorado Hub

07/09/2018
Helix, a personal genomics company, is expanding its operations with the addition of an facility in Denver, Colorado. The company is adding to its headquarters in San Carlos, California, and lab operations in San Diego, California.

According to company officials, the decision to open in Denver was made after evaluating several key markets with Denver winning out due to the depth of talent and rapidly expanding tech and biotech scene in what has been aptly named “Silicon Mountain.”

The company also announced the acquisition of Denver-based platform partner HumanCode. The entire HumanCode team, including co-founders Ryan Trunck and Jennifer Lescallett, will join the Helix team with responsibility for enhancing the end-to-end customer experience and increasing support for the company’s growing ecosystem of product development partners.

“The Helix platform, powered by our CLIA- and CAP-accredited clinical sequencing lab and proprietary Exome+ assay, offers the most compelling development environment for partners to build the next generation of personal genomics products. Helix offers 100 times more data than genotyping arrays, giving developers an unprecedented opportunity to engage people in their health and wellness. With Deena Bahri at the helm of a growing marketing organization, and Ajay Gopal driving the financial health of the business, I am more confident than ever that our platform will continue to build momentum,” said Robin Thurston, CEO of Helix.

“We are gaining valuable talent in priority, high-demand areas like engineering and product design and are getting the benefit of an integrated team that has deep experience working together to build engaging consumer experiences in digital health. The entire HumanCode team have done a tremendous job creating engaging DNA-powered products for the Helix platform. We are very excited for what this means for Helix and for our partners,” Thurston added.

“We founded HumanCode to help people learn more about themselves through DNA, and are thrilled to join the Helix team and make personal genomics accessible and actionable for everyone,” said Chris Glode, Helix’s new Chief Product Officer. “Along the way, we built a platform that allows developers to create new insights to inspire new products based on human genomic data. We are excited to build a hub of personal genomics innovation in Denver and leverage the Rocky Mountain region’s growing pool of tech talent.”

“Science and technology continue to transform public health and wellness. In a health-conscious and tech-savvy state like Colorado, that means a vibrant bioscience industry empowering us to achieve our full health potential,” said Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper. “Helix’s acquisition of HumanCode is a validation of bio health innovation that originated right here in Colorado. Their long-term commitment to the market shows our value as a true innovation hub.”

“We’re proud to welcome Helix to the Mile High City, and we’re excited to witness the synergies that they and HumanCode will bring to our healthcare and technology sectors,” Said Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock. “Denver is one of the strongest city economies in the nation, and this acquisition and expansion speaks volumes about our city’s strong culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.”

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