FYR Bio hires COO to industrialise EV‑Omics, cites ABB automation trend

FYR Bio hires operations chief to industrialise EV-based multiomics

FYR Bio announces that Barbara K. Zehentner joins the company as chief operating officer to lead operational strategy and execution as the Missoula, Montana firm scales its EV‑Omics (EVO) platform. Zehentner is charged with expanding laboratory capacity, strengthening compliance and implementing automation and quality systems so FYR can deliver multiomic outputs to biopharma, academic and clinical partners at scale. The move underscores FYR’s push to transition its proprietary SPARCs™ enrichment and EVO workflows from development to routine, CLIA/CAP‑certified service delivery.

Operational industrialisation is the central task of Zehentner’s remit. She brings more than two decades of experience building and running high‑complexity CLIA/CAP laboratories, multi‑site workflows and automated, high‑throughput sequencing operations, most recently as chief operating officer at CareNexa LLC dba Molecular Testing Labs and previously as vice president of molecular laboratory operations at Adaptive Biotechnologies. FYR says her background in inspection readiness, automation and disciplined execution will help the company expand capacity while maintaining regulatory compliance and product consistency as it supports clinical studies and translational programs.

The appointment highlights growing demand for laboratory automation and systems integration across the clinical and translational multiomics market — an area served by industrial automation firms such as ABB. As companies that commercialise high‑throughput biological assays scale, they increasingly require factory‑style automation, robotics and process control to ensure throughput, reproducibility and regulatory traceability. FYR’s emphasis on smart automation and multi‑site operational design mirrors broader industry trends toward industrialising complex laboratory workflows.

Operational pedigree and immediate priorities

FYR describes the EVO platform as using SPARCs™ to enrich extracellular vesicles from diseased cells to enable assessment of cellular proteins and nucleic acids. The platform produces AI‑enabled multiomic data intended to inform diagnostics, biomarker discovery, clinical trial design and drug development, with services structured to meet CLIA/CAP standards as capacity grows.

Partner implications and compliance focus

CEO and co‑founder Chris Booth praises Zehentner’s record of strengthening operational foundations to enable reliable delivery for clients and partners, and Zehentner says she is excited to apply quality systems, automation and disciplined execution to help partners move biomarker programs, clinical studies and translational decisions forward.