Press Release

Carlos D. Bustamante, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of Biomedical Data Science at Stanford University, and Stephen B. Bonner, Former President and CEO of Cancer Treatment Centers of America and Harvard Business School Entrepreneur in Residence, Join Columbia Care

NEW YORK, June 25, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Columbia Care LLC, the nation’s leading medical cannabis company, announces the scientific advisory board appointments of Carlos D. Bustamante, Ph.D., professor and chair of biomedical data science at Stanford University, and Stephen B. Bonner, entrepreneur in residence at Harvard Business School’s Rock Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and former president and chief executive officer of Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA).

“We are privileged to add world-renowned experts such as Prof. Bustamante and Mr. Bonner to our scientific advisory board, and we look forward to utilizing their decades of experience and global reach as we expand our capabilities,” said Nicholas Vita, chief executive officer of Columbia Care. “Prof. Bustamante will be invaluable in accelerating our data analytics program and solidifying relationships with global technology leaders. This will enable Columbia Care to leverage its ongoing research efforts and existing repository of medical cannabis patient and consumer data, which is among the largest in the world, to drive product innovation and create targeted predictive outcome models. These capabilities will have a profound positive impact on the way healthcare and consumer analytics are leveraged responsibly and will position Columbia Care as a global leader in both the healthcare and consumer goods sectors.”

Mr. Vita continued, “Mr. Bonner will lead the process of integrating our products and services into traditional and specialty healthcare provider settings, including insurance formularies and healthcare insurance plans. His experience navigating a complicated, highly regulated and challenging therapeutic area at CTCA makes him ideally suited to advise us as we embark on building relationships with healthcare providers. Carlos and Steve’s formidable intellects, integrity of purpose, passion for improving lives and tenacious work ethic will be invaluable resources to the Columbia Care leadership team as we continue to lead the way through the ever-changing medical cannabis industry.”

Prof. Carlos D. Bustamante is a professor of biomedical data science, genetics and (by courtesy) biology at Stanford University. He is founding director of Stanford’s Center for Computational, Evolutionary and Human Genomics (CEHG) and inaugural chair of the Department of Biomedical Data Science (DBDS). Prof. Bustamante is also president of CDB Consulting, LTD, an internationally recognized consulting firm, providing data science and genomics expertise in medicine, agriculture and biology and specializing in scientific strategy, founder of Arc-Bio (formerly IdentifyGenomics and BigDataBio) and a scientific advisory board member of Embark Veterinary, the Mars/ IBM Food Safety Board and Digitalis Ventures. Prof. Bustamante has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications in his career. In 2017, he was named a Chan Zuckerberg Investigator, and in 2010, a MacArthur Fellow. Prof. Bustamante earned his Ph.D. in biology, M.S. in statistics and B.A. in biology from Harvard University. 

Stephen B. Bonner is currently an entrepreneur in residence at Harvard Business School’s Rock Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. He is also an advisor to the healthcare private equity firms Brown Legacy Group, Triple Tree, Chicago Pacific Founders and VCapital. Prior to his position at Harvard Business School, Mr. Bonner was the president and chief executive officer of Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) from 1999-2014 and was a member of the CTCA board from 1996-2015. While at CTCA, he led pioneering work on integrated oncology treatments, overseeing the publication of more than 200 abstracts on the company’s research. Mr. Bonner earned his J.D. from Mitchell Hamline College of Law and his B.A. in political science from Amherst College.

About Columbia Care

Columbia Care is the nation’s largest and most experienced manufacturer and provider of medical cannabis products and services. The Company is licensed in highly selective and regulated jurisdictions and has completed more than 750,000 successful patient interactions since its inception. Working in collaboration with some of the most renowned and innovative teaching hospitals and medical centers in the world, Columbia Care is a patient-centered healthcare company setting the standard for compassion, professionalism, quality, caring and innovation for a rapidly expanding new industry. For more information on Columbia Care, please visit www.col-care.com.

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Released June 25, 2018