May 12, 2005 — Christopher K. McLeod will become president and chief executive of 454 Life Sciences, a biotech company that uses nanotechnology in instrumentation for genomic analysis. 454 Life Sciences is a majority-owned subsidiary of New Haven, Conn.-based CuraGen Corp., where McLeod served as executive vice president.
CuraGen announced management changes today that it said were a result of a recently announced partnership between 454 Life Sciences and Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. CuraGen founder and CEO Jonathan Rothberg will step down from his post at CuraGen but remain on its board of directors. He will be chairman of the board of 454 Life Sciences. Patrick Zenner, a CuraGen board member and former president and CEO at Hoffmann-La Roche, was appointed interim CEO at CuraGen.