Foresite Labs Appoints Uplaksh Kumar, Former GRAIL and Verily Operations Lead, to Chief Operating Officer

In preparation for new incubated company launches, Foresite Labs strengthens its operational capabilities

SAN FRANCISCO & BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Foresite Labs today announced the appointment of Uplaksh Kumar as its chief operating officer (COO). The executive will join the company’s senior leadership team to spearhead its strategic operations. Created in 2019, Foresite Labs’ mission is to found, build and scale life sciences initiatives at the intersection of healthcare and data science.

Prior to joining Foresite Labs, Uplaksh Kumar was the SVP of strategic operations and scale at GRAIL, where he launched the Galleri test, a multi-cancer early detection test. Before his role at GRAIL, Kumar was the first head of operations at Verily. He has held various leadership positions at Life Technologies, BD, LONZA, and Qiagen, in addition to co-founding RoosterBio, a regenerative medicine company developing research and clinical-grade stem cells.

Kumar is a proven business leader who has built and scaled operations in the medical device, cellular therapy, life sciences, and biopharma space both nationally and internationally. He has also successfully executed financing activities that include private investment and IPO. Kumar holds a B.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Mumbai, and a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Maryland. He completed his business program at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

"Uplaksh has dedicated his career to improving our healthcare industry - from advancing cancer detection to redefining how we use stem cells in regenerative medicine," said Dr. Vikram Bajaj, CEO of Foresite Labs. "We know his unparalleled experience leading and scaling biotech endeavors, coupled with his passion to improve the human condition, will be a huge asset to Foresite Labs."

Kumar will focus on leading the operations functions for Foresite Labs and efficiently scaling Foresite Lab’s incubated companies. Building on the early success and maturity of existing companies’ research programs, Kumar will aim to position Foresite Labs as a large data-generating and healthcare product developing enterprise. He will also serve as a venture partner at Foresite Capital, identifying and supporting investments.

"I’ve had an interest in science and tech since I was young, and my passion really lies in wanting to have a deeper impact on my community, especially when it comes to healthcare. Ultimately, it’s this mission that brought me to Foresite Labs," said Kumar. "As the COO of Foresite Labs, I’m excited to bolster the exceptional life sciences research and technologies we’ve discovered that impact the treatment and management of disease and advance the biotech industry."

Kumar’s appointment to the Foresite Labs senior leadership team follows the promotions of Alex Blocker and Rick Dewey as the company’s CTO and CSO, respectively. It also comes after Foresite Capital's latest announcement of $173 million raised to invest in Foresite Labs funded companies.

About Foresite Labs

Foresite Labs is a center for entrepreneurial innovation at the nexus of data science and healthcare. Based in San Francisco and Boston, Foresite Labs partners with next-generation healthcare entrepreneurs to launch life sciences and healthcare companies that use the tools of data science to solve our greatest unmet medical needs. For more information, please visit www.foresitelabs.com.