Trovagene, a developer of cell-free molecular diagnostics, has announced that Carl Feldbaum, president emeritus of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), a biotechnology trade association, has been appointed to its board of directors. He also will be chairman of the company's Corporate Governance and Nominating committee.

"I am certain that his guidance and contributions to our board will be of great benefit to our company, as we integrate our technology into treatment protocols to improve the standard of care for cancer patients," said Antonius Schuh, Ph.D., CEO of Trovagene.

Feldbaum said, "From both professional and family experiences, I am aware that various cancers are known to be driven by certain DNA mutations. With advances in the development of targeted therapies that treat cancer more effectively, Trovagene's cancer monitoring system provides information about specific tumor mutations and their changes over time, which can help physicians treat patients optimally.”

As president of BIO from 1993 until 2005, Feldbaum led the organization to represent more than 1,000 biotechnology companies, academic institutions and state biotechnology centers internationally. He currently is a member of the board of directors of Actelion Pharmaceuticals, and is chairman of its Nominating and Governance committee. Since 2006, he has worked on the board of directors of Exelixis. Feldbaum previously was a member of the board of directors of Connetics from 2005 until its acquisition by Stiefel Laboratories in 2006. He also works as director of BIO Ventures for Global Health and The Life Sciences Foundation, both nonprofit organizations.

Earlier in his career, Feldbaum was chief of staff to Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, and founded Palomar, a national security "think tank" in Washington, D.C. Before founding Palomar, Feldbaum was assistant to the secretary of energy, served as the inspector general for defense intelligence in the Department of Defense and was a member of the Watergate Special Prosecution Force.