Mark Adams, chief operating officer of Adaptive Biotechnologies Corp. (Nasdaq: ADPT), is moving on from the Seattle-based biotech company.
In a Tuesday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Adaptive said Adams on Friday "was informed that his service is being terminated by May."
Julie Rubinstein, Adaptive's president, will take on the COO duties.
In a statement to the Business Journal, an Adaptive spokesperson said the company is consolidating the president and COO position, and there won't be a replacement for Adams.
"Mark Adams has been instrumental in scaling Adaptive’s operations over the past several years, including putting in place world-class technology and operations leaders," the spokesperson said in the statement. "He is an incredible leader and cultural champion, and we are grateful for his contributions to Adaptive and wish him luck in the future."
The spokesperson added Adaptive plans to be around "for the long term" and consolidating the two roles "follows careful consideration of our business needs to achieve that goal." Rubinstein in her combined role will work across operations, research and development, and commercial efforts.
Adams has spent about three years with Adaptive, according to his LinkedIn page, first as chief technology officer and then as COO. Earlier in his career, he spent time at SVB Securities, Celmatix and Booz Allen Hamilton.
Rubinstein, meanwhile, has been with Adaptive since 2011. Before joining Adaptive, she spent more than eight years in a variety of director roles at Pfizer, her LinkedIn page shows.
Adaptive was founded in 2009 by brothers Chad and Harlan Robins, who serve as CEO and chief scientific officer, respectively. The company went public in 2019. Adaptive makes technology for minimal residual disease testing, or a way to determine if a tiny number of cancer cells remain in the body after treatment, according to the National Cancer Institute. The company also has a business line aimed at immune medicine.
In March 2022, Adaptive laid off roughly 100 workers as part of an organizational shake-up. The company had 790 full-time employees at the end of last year. In September, Adaptive secured a royalty financing agreement with the health care investment firm OrbiMed that was worth up to $250 million.
In its fourth quarter and full-year 2022 financial results, released in February, Adaptive said it generated $55.2 million in revenue in the fourth quarter and $185.3 million for the full year, year-over-year increases of 46% and 20%, respectively.
