TCR2 Therapeutics Appoints Leading Cell Therapy Expert as Chief Medical Officer
Timing consistent with plan to drive lead program TC-210 into the clinic in 2018
Team also strengthened with key hires in manufacturing and research
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- TCR2 Therapeutics Inc., today announced three new management appointments as the company advances its TRuC™-T cell programs toward the clinic to address solid tumors. Alfonso Quintás Cardama, MD, was named as the company's first Chief Medical Officer. In this role, he will be responsible for clinical and regulatory strategies as TCR2 transitions into a clinical-stage company with lead program TC-210 during 2018. In addition, TCR2 strengthened its senior team with the appointments of Andrew Cornforth, PhD, as Vice President of Process Development and Daniel Getts, PhD, as Vice President of Research.
"I am thrilled to welcome such accomplished individuals to TCR2 at a time when we are preparing our lead program TC-210 to enter the clinic next year," said Garry Menzel, PhD, Chief Executive Officer. "Alfonso, Andrew and Daniel have impressive and highly relevant track records in cell therapy, immunology, drug development and manufacturing which will complement the existing team as we execute on our strategy of using the immune system to cure cancer."
Alfonso Quintás Cardama, TCR2's new Chief Medical Officer, brings nearly 20 years of experience leading clinical strategy and regulatory filings for multiple oncology therapeutics resulting in market approval. He joins TCR2 from GlaxoSmithKline where he was clinical development head of the Cell & Gene Therapies Unit and responsible for the full clinical development strategy, execution and collaboration with Adaptimmune on the affinity enhanced T-cell therapies. Previously, Alfonso served as Global Clinical Leader of Novartis's recently approved Kymriah™ (tisagenlecleucel) CTL019 program and was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Leukemia at MD Anderson Cancer Center.
"TCR2's innovative approach could revolutionize how we treat solid tumors. I am most excited and privileged to be joining such a dedicated team committed to developing new cancer treatments for patients for whom limited options exist," said Dr. Cardama.
Board certified in Medical Oncology and Internal Medicine and the recipient of numerous fellowships, honors and awards, Alfonso earned his medical degree from the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, School of Medicine in Spain. He completed an internship and residency in the Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, and a Hematology and Oncology fellowship at The University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, upon which he joined the Leukemia Department as a faculty member where he became a world-renowned leukemia researcher.
Andrew Cornforth, TCR2's Vice President of Process Development, is responsible for leading the company's cellular process development, analytical sciences, manufacturing and quality control operations. Previously, he led manufacturing, process development and Good Manufacturing Practice operations for immunotherapy programs at several companies including AIVITA Biomedical and Caladrius Biosciences. Preceding his transition to industry, Andrew served as a senior scientist at Hoag Memorial Hospital, Orange County, CA. He earned his PhD in Experimental Pathology from the University of California, Irvine.
Daniel Getts, TCR2's Vice President of Research, is responsible for target discovery, preclinical research and translational sciences. Previously, he was co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Cour Pharmaceuticals, a nanotechnology company focused on immune disorders. He also served as Director, Research & Development at Tolera Therapeutics where he was responsible for advancing the company's monoclonal antibody program. A recipient of numerous honors and awards and widely published, Daniel maintains academic positions at Northwestern University, where he was a postdoctoral fellow in Stephen D. Miller's laboratory, and at the University of Sydney. He holds a PhD in Medicine from the University of Sydney and a MBA from Western Michigan University.
About TCR2 Therapeutics
TCR2 Therapeutics is an immuno-oncology company that has pioneered a novel class of T cell therapies that utilize the full signaling power of complete T cell receptors (TCR). TCR2 has developed a unique proprietary TRuC™ platform which can reprogram the natural TCR complex to elicit rapid killing of cancer cells. The company has demonstrated superior activity against several tumor targets in preclinical models compared to CAR-T and is expected to advance its lead program TC-210 into the clinic in 2018. TCR2 was founded in 2015 by Dr. Patrick Baeuerle and backed with a $44.5M Series A financing led by MPM Capital and F2 Ventures. It has since assembled a world-class team of immunotherapy experts and entrepreneurs located in the heart of Kendall Square in Cambridge, MA. For more information, please visit www.tcr2.com.
SOURCE TCR2 Therapeutics
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