David Johnston

PPD, Inc. engages in the provision of drug development services to the biopharmaceutical industry, focuses on helping customers bring their new medicines to patients around the world. It operates through the Clinical Development Services and Laboratory Services segments. The Clinical Development Services segment focuses in early development/Phase I, patient recruitment and enrollment, investigator site management, Phase II-IV clinical trial management, medical communications and various peri- and post-approval services. The Laboratory Services segment comprises of bioanalytical, vaccine sciences, GMP, central lab and biomarker testing. The company was founded by Fred Eshelma in 1985 and is headquartered in Wilmington, NC.

Locus Biosciences, Inc. develops CRISPR-engineered precision antibacterial products for antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections and microbiome-related disease. The firm offers CRISPR-engineered bacteriophage and CRISPR-Cas3 phage. The company was founded by Charles Gersbach, Dave Ousterout, Chase Beisel, Paul M. Garofolo, Nick Taylor, and Rodolphe Barrangou in 2015 and is headquartered in Morrisville, NC.