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The view from John Sherwin, Ph.D.

For John Sherwin, Ph.D., the inevitability of change is as real as the force of gravity itself. Nothing within his sphere of influence remains at rest, which is a testimony to his natural managerial skills and dynamic clinical expertise; and something his new employers at PerkinElmer Life & Analytical Sciences are banking on as he assimilates his knowledge and skills into the company’s Genetic Screening area.

A veteran in clinical science, Dr. Sherwin is a board certified doctoral clinical scientist with more than 25 years of experience in the science and management of clinical affairs and operations.  He holds licenses in both California and New York and has more than 50 scientific publications connected to his name. For many years he was the director of Chemistry and Toxicology at Valley Children’s Hospital. He has held positions as senior technical director, general manager, and chief operating officer of multimillion-dollar reference laboratories. He has also been a consultant to a variety of businesses and physician practices. He is a past president of both the American Association for Clinical Chemistry and the National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry, and is a past board member of both.  He has been active in pediatric laboratory medicine throughout his career.

Prior to joining PerkinElmer as the Director of Laboratory Operations, Dr. Sherwin was the Chief of the California state Genetic Disease Laboratories which provide prenatal and newborn screening testing programs to the state. He also served as Acting Chief of the entire Genetic Screening Program of the state of California.

The realities of workflow, throughput, efficiency and quality are well engraved into the psyche of this industry guru. In his new position, Dr. Sherwin has a great deal of influence over each fundamental area which encompasses PerkinElmer’s prenatal and neonatal Genetics Screening area, or more specifically, the ever-growing operations of NTD Labs and PerkinElmer Genetics.

“I definitely bring to the table the benefits of experience and perspective,” Dr. Sherwin says of his new post. “I have been on the hospital side of the profession, particularly in tertiary pediatric clinical care. I’ve been in the reference lab profession right alongside banks of analyzers and I’ve known first hand what the issues are for the people affected by the service provided by each of these providers.

I also know first hand what it means to be patient-centric, so there’s that real-world sense of dealing with people and their own viewpoints and anxiety regarding their individual health issues.”

That professional track couldn’t be a better fit for PerkinElmer now as it steps deeper into a strategy of maternal care menu expansion and growth through a combination of organic and acquisitive cycles. Recent acquisitions exemplify this. In 2006, PerkinElmer purchased NTD Labs®, a privately held reference lab in New York that pioneered the development of early prenatal screening protocols, namely the Ultra-Screen® free Beta hCG/PAPP-A/NT risk assessment screen for Down syndrome. More recently, the company purchased the newborn metabolic screening business formerly owned by Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc., now renamed as PerkinElmer Genetics.

I also know first hand what it means to be patient-centric

That purchase put the Pennsylvania screening reference laboratory and its StepOne® newborn screening product, which is capable of analyzing more than 50 inherited disorders in newborns, directly into the PerkinElmer genetic screening product offering and gave the life sciences company greater inroads into key markets. The laboratory provides neonatal screening and consultative services to five states and the District of Columbia, and to hospitals and medical groups.

"Our strategy is for PerkinElmer to enhance its capability to deliver a growing portfolio of world-class neonatal and prenatal/maternal health solutions to consumers through their healthcare professionals," said Robert F. Friel, Chief Executive Officer and President of PerkinElmer. "With the completion of this acquisition, we now can provide state laboratories with the most comprehensive array of newborn screening solutions available and strengthen our leadership in this growing market."

As the Director of Laboratory operations, Dr. Sherwin has a lot of ground to cover and a great deal of motion in play. He lives in California and travels much of the time among numerous destination points including the newly acquired labs, collaborative partners and health care facilities. The frequent flier routine doesn’t seem to dilute his enthusiasm or appetite for activity. In fact, during a recent conversation at NTD Labs’ Long Island facility, Dr. Sherwin brightened up when discussing the subject of the company’s relocation slated for this summer.

“This is a great opportunity for us to grow and turn our new asset into an even greater resource for advanced prenatal screening, scientific research and development,” Dr. Sherwin says of the move. “The new modern facility is twice the size of our current location and it is located in the heart of a very affluent corporate hub on Long Island. It gives us opportunity to streamline and restructure to optimize workflows and enhance support and service levels…all within a culture that promotes the idea that each sample we handle represents a patient. That’s a connection obstetricians have long associated with NTD Labs and it’s one we intend to maintain.”

We’re raising the bar in terms of best practices

All 55 NTD Labs employees are expected to relocate with the company as it settles into the new, CLIA accredited location. More are expected to join the ranks afterward in both clinical and administrative areas. For Long Island, this bodes well given the region’s proximity to many innovative biotechnology connections, including two incubators, several major hospitals, hundreds of ObGyn practices and a resident population of more than 3 million.

“The immediate future has many exciting things in store for us,” Sherwin adds. “We’re raising the bar in terms of best practices. We’re connecting with more and more providers including third-party payers, which means our technology is disseminating rapidly throughout the prenatal care community, domestically and internationally. The moves we are making today simply create the environment that will support the demands and responsibilities that come with this expansion, and I’m happy to be a part of it.