Aspira Women’s Health Appoints Minh Merchant as General Counsel

Rhea-AI Summary

Aspira Women’s Health Inc. (AWH) appointed Minh Merchant as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, effective January 4, 2022. With extensive experience in healthcare law, Merchant's previous roles include General Counsel at Genome Medical and Associate General Counsel at Myriad Genetics. CEO Valerie Palmieri expressed confidence in Merchant's ability to contribute strategically to the company, known for its innovative women's health solutions. Aspira focuses on improving gynecologic health outcomes, particularly in ovarian cancer risk assessment, and aims to enhance access to specialty tests through its new technology transfer platform.

Positive

• Minh Merchant brings substantial healthcare legal experience, enhancing AWH's leadership team.
• Merchant's background includes strategic roles that could positively influence business development.
• Aspira's focus on addressing ovarian cancer disparities aligns with growing healthcare needs.

Negative

• No significant continuity concerns or gaps in leadership experience reported.

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aspira Women’s Health Inc. (Nasdaq: AWH), a bioanalytical-based women’s health company, today announced that Minh Merchant will join the Company as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, effective Jan. 4, 2022. In this role, Ms. Merchant will lead the Company’s legal, compliance, and enterprise risk management functions, reporting to Valerie Palmieri, CEO.

Ms. Merchant is a seasoned executive with deep healthcare experience, which includes companies spanning the market cap spectrum. From her contributions at a Fortune 5 public healthcare company, where she provided steady guidance on complex issues, to her strategic counsel at a nimble pre-IPO start up where she oversaw several transactions and financings just prior to its $375 million merger with a public company, Ms. Merchant has provided legal counsel and regulatory oversight on all aspects of corporate matters. Prior to joining Aspira, Ms. Merchant served as General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Corporate Compliance Officer at Genome Medical Inc., a private telegenomics company. Prior to that, she served as Associate General Counsel, Global Director of Litigation & Human Resources at Myriad Genetics where she provided legal and strategic guidance on all matters of healthcare regulations, compliance, privacy commercial relationships, federal and state regulations and clinical trials. Ms. Merchant began her corporate career at McKesson Corporation, a Fortune 5 company and the largest pharmaceutical distributor in the nation, where she served Chief Counsel after one decade in private legal practice. Ms. Merchant began her career in law after graduating from UCLA School of Law where she was the Joseph Drown Fellow. Ms. Merchant has served as President of the Vietnamese American Bar Association of Northern California, and was the inaugural co-chair of the National Conference of Vietnamese American Attorneys in 2008.

“It is with great pleasure that we warmly welcome Minh to our senior management team. She is an extraordinarily talented and experienced executive with deep knowledge of the healthcare industry,” said Valerie Palmieri, Chief Executive Officer of Aspira. “With her business acumen and strategic insights, we look forward to her many contributions in the coming months and years.”

Ms. Merchant added, “I am very excited to join this executive team, with its core focus and singular commitment to improving the lives of women globally. The team’s data-driven approach to providing solutions combined with its cutting-edge portfolio of gynecologic health products truly is a standout approach, and I look forward to being part of this exciting journey of transforming women’s health.”

About Aspira Women’s Health Inc.
Aspira Women’s Health Inc. is transforming women’s health with the discovery, development, and commercialization of innovative testing options and bio-analytical solutions that help physicians assess risk, optimize patient management, and improve gynecologic health outcomes for women.  Aspira Women’s Health is particularly focused on closing the ethnic disparity gap in ovarian cancer risk assessment and developing solutions for pelvic diseases such as pelvic mass risk assessment and endometriosis. OVA1plus^TM combines our FDA-cleared products, OVA1® and OVERA®, to detect risk of ovarian malignancy in women with adnexal masses. Aspira GenetiX^TM testing offers both targeted and comprehensive genetic testing options with a gynecologic focus. With over 10 years of expertise in ovarian cancer risk assessment, Aspira Women’s Health is working to deliver a portfolio of pelvic mass products over a patient’s lifetime with our cutting-edge research. The next generation of products in development include OVAWatch^TM and EndoCheck^TM.  To improve patient accessibility, Aspira Women’s Health has recently launched our Aspira Synergy technology transfer platform to empower health systems, academics, regional labs, and physician group labs to conduct genetic and specialty tests in-house. Visit our website for more information at www.aspirawh.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the expected use of Aspira Synergy Genetics by Axia Women’s Health physicians and the expected launch of Aspira Synergy specialty tests. These statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties.  All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. Words such as “may,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “plans,” “seeks,” “could,” “should,” “continue,” “will,” “potential,” “projects” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.  These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, including the risks and uncertainties described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Aspira Women’s Health’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020. The events and circumstances reflected in Aspira Women’s Health’s forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.  Aspira Women’s Health expressly disclaims any obligation to update, amend or clarify any forward-looking statements to reflect events, new information or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release, except as required by law.

Investor Relations Contact:
Ashley R. Robinson
LifeSci Advisors, LLC
Tel 617-430-7577
Arr@lifesciadvisors.com

FAQ

Who is Minh Merchant and what will her role be at AWH?

Minh Merchant has been appointed as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Aspira Women’s Health, effective January 4, 2022.

What experience does Minh Merchant bring to Aspira Women’s Health?

Merchant has extensive experience in healthcare law, previously serving in executive roles at Genome Medical and Myriad Genetics.

How might Minh Merchant's appointment impact Aspira Women’s Health?

Her strategic insights and healthcare expertise are expected to strengthen the company's legal and compliance functions.

What is Aspira Women’s Health focused on?

Aspira is focused on innovative testing and bioanalytical solutions to improve gynecologic health outcomes, particularly in ovarian cancer.