Stephen Friend, a health researcher and co-founder of Sage Bionetworks, has left Apple after serving less than two years on the job to become an “independent entrepreneur,” reports CNBC. No reason was given for the departure.
Sage Bionetworks launched in 2009 as part of Friend’s vision “to drive open science and fundamentally change the relationship between patients and their doctors.” The company has been a partner on most of the high-profile apps to come out on Apple’s health-focused platforms, ResearchKit and CareKit.
Another member of Apple’s health team, Anil Sethi, also left the company at the end of 2017 to work on a start-up focused on gathering health information for cancer patients.
In the past few years, Apple has recruited a team of medical experts to help guide its strategy as it moves into health care. Its team currently includes: Rajiv Kumar, a doctor who specializes in treating kids with diabetes; Divya Nag, a former biotech entrepreneur; and Mike O’Reilly, an anesthesiologist.
