Allogene Appoints Zachary J. Roberts, M.D., Ph.D. as Executive Vice President of Research & Development
04 January 2023 - 12:00AM
Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALLO), a clinical-stage
biotechnology company pioneering the development of allogeneic CAR
T (AlloCAR T™) products for cancer, today announced the appointment
of Zachary J. Roberts M.D., Ph.D. to Executive Vice President of
Research and Development. The hiring of Dr. Roberts, who previously
held clinical leadership roles at Instil Bio and Kite Pharma,
underscores the Company’s commitment to rapidly advancing its
pipeline following recent clinical data illustrating the
potential of its AlloCAR T product candidates to induce deep
and durable responses. Dr. Roberts will assume the responsibilities
of Rafael Amado, M.D. who has resigned to pursue other
opportunities. Arun Balakumaran, M.D., Chief Medical Officer and
Barbra Sasu, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer will report to Dr.
Roberts.
“Our R&D Showcase demonstrated that we are nearing a key
inflection point in the field of cell therapy. Our Phase 1 data
support the opportunity to bring a first-in-class product to market
with ALLO-501A for the treatment of large B cell lymphoma,” said
David Chang, M.D., Ph.D., President, Chief Executive Officer and
Co-Founder of Allogene. “Success in this endeavor requires a
special skill set, including a relentless drive to accelerate and
innovate. Having worked alongside Zach at Kite, I know Zach
embodies that mindset, and I am thrilled to have him join the
Allogene team as we advance multiple product candidates through
development.”
Dr. Roberts is a trained immunologist and a board certified
oncologist with extensive experience in clinical oncology,
including the development of cell therapies. Prior to joining
Allogene, Dr. Roberts was Chief Medical Officer of Instil Bio where
he led development of both clinical and pre-clinical programs.
Prior to that, Dr. Roberts held various roles of increasing
responsibility at Kite Pharma (acquired by Gilead in 2017), where
he was instrumental in the development and execution of the ZUMA
trials across multiple indications for Yescarta®, the first
autologous CAR T therapy approved for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He
holds an M.D. and Ph.D. in immunology from the University of
Maryland and completed clinical and post-graduate training at
Massachusetts General Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer
Institute.
“My years of experience in the field of cell therapy have
convinced me that an allogeneic approach is required to deliver the
full potential of CAR T to patients in need,” said Dr. Roberts.
“The recent datasets presented by Allogene, including the potential
to deliver deep and durable responses, have bolstered my belief and
passion in this approach. I am excited to work again with some of
the pioneers of cell therapy – both at Allogene and clinical trial
investigators – as we bring a new treatment modality and a new hope
to patients.
Dr. Chang also recognized the role played by Dr. Amado, “We
appreciate Rafael’s efforts to advance pipeline candidates and
validate our unique platform approach to AlloCAR T. We wish him
well as he continues to pursue his passion of developing
anti-cancer therapies.”
In October 2022, the Company initiated the industry’s first
potentially pivotal Phase 2 allogeneic CAR T clinical trial (ALPHA2
trial) with ALLO-501A in patients with relapsed/refractory (r/r)
large B cell lymphoma (LBCL). In early 2023, the Company expects to
initiate the potentially pivotal Phase 2 EXPAND trial, which is
intended to demonstrate the contribution of ALLO-647 to the
standard fludarabine/cyclophosphamide lymphodepletion regimen, as
well as advance Phase 3 readiness for a second line trial in LBCL
later in the year. The Company is also planning a potentially
pivotal Phase 2 trial for ALLO-715 in r/r multiple myeloma (MM),
including planned regulatory discussions, optimizing the
manufacturing process and transitioning manufacturing of ALLO-715
to the Company’s own manufacturing facility, Cell Forge 1.
Additionally, the Company continues to enroll patients in the Phase
1 TRAVERSE trial with ALLO-316 for the treatment of advanced renal
cell carcinoma.
About Allogene TherapeuticsAllogene
Therapeutics, with headquarters in South San Francisco, is a
clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of
allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor T cell (AlloCAR T™) products
for cancer. Led by a management team with significant experience in
cell therapy, Allogene is developing a pipeline of “off-the-shelf”
CAR T cell candidates with the goal of delivering readily available
cell therapy on-demand, more reliably, and at greater scale to more
patients. For more information, please visit www.allogene.com, and
follow @AllogeneTx on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements for purposes
of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. The press release may, in some cases, use terms
such as "predicts," "believes," "potential," "proposed,"
"continue," "estimates," "anticipates," "expects," "plans,"
"intends," "may," "could," "might," "will," "should" or other words
that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify
these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements
include statements regarding intentions, beliefs, projections,
outlook, analyses or current expectations concerning, among other
things: the timing and ability to progress the ALPHA2, EXPAND,
UNIVERSAL, and TRAVERSE trials; the likelihood of success of the
ALPHA2 Phase 2 trial, which is based on limited data from the ALPHA
Phase 1 trials across two different product candidates and various
doses of ALLO-501 or ALLO-501A; advancing to a Phase 2 UNIVERSAL
trial; clinical outcomes, which may materially change as more
patient data become available; the ability to manufacture AlloCAR
T™ products and optimize manufacturing, with consistent and
reproducible clinical outcomes; the ability to enroll patients in
clinical trials; the potential for Allogene’s product candidates to
be approved; and the potential benefits of AlloCAR T products.
Various factors may cause differences between Allogene’s
expectations and actual results as discussed in greater detail in
Allogene’s filings with the SEC, including without limitation
in its Form 8-K filed on November 29, 2022 and under the “Risk
Factors” heading of its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September
30, 2022. Any forward-looking statements that are made in this
press release speak only as of the date of this press release.
Allogene assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking
statements whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise, after the date of this press release.
AlloCAR T™ is a trademark of Allogene Therapeutics,
Inc.Yescarta® is a registered trademark of Kite Pharma, Inc., a
Gilead Company
Allogene’s AlloCAR T™ programs utilize the Cellectis TALEN®
technologies. ALLO-501 and ALLO-501A are anti-CD19 products being
jointly developed under a collaboration agreement between Servier
and Allogene based on an exclusive license granted by Cellectis to
Servier. Servier grants to Allogene exclusive rights to ALLO-501
and ALLO-501A in the U.S. The anti-BCMA and anti-CD70 AlloCAR T
programs are licensed exclusively from Cellectis by Allogene and
Allogene holds global development and commercial rights to these
AlloCAR T programs.
Allogene Media/Investor Contact:Christine
CassianoChief Communications Officer(714)
552-0326Christine.Cassiano@allogene.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/09b44209-6e0b-4cba-9d3c-f5212ddb36e9
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