Dr Raponi’s primary interest is the utilization of molecular diagnostic approaches for the identification of patients most likely to respond to therapeutic intervention. He previously spent 15 years at Johnson & Johnson, building biomarker and companion diagnostic programs within the diagnostics (Veridex and Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics) and pharmaceutical (Centocor OrthoBiotech) franchises. Dr Raponi is currently responsible for implementing companion diagnostic strategies to support the development and commercialization of effective cancer therapeutics at Clovis Oncology. Clovis Oncology currently has three compounds in the pipeline, each of which has a companion diagnostic also under development. These include CO-101 (gemcitabine elaidate), for the treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, CO-1686 (an EGFR mutant selective inhibitor) for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, and CO-338 (rucaparib, an inhibitor of PARP) for the treatment of cancers with deficiencies in DNA repair. Dr Raponi received his PhD in Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry from the University of New South Wales, Australia, and has published in the fields of gene therapy, cancer genomics, and personalized medicine.