Cartesian Therapeutics Strengthens Leadership Team With Hire of Miloš Miljković, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer
- Former CMO Metin Kurtoglu, M.D., Ph.D., appointed as the Company's first Chief Operating Officer
- Cartesian expands cGMP manufacturing facility to support growing clinical pipeline
GAITHERSBURG, Md., Sept. 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cartesian Therapeutics, a fully integrated, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering RNA cell therapy in and beyond oncology, today announced the hire of Miloš Miljković, M.D., as Vice President and Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Miljković will oversee the strategy and execution of the Company's growing clinical pipeline of RNA cell therapies. In addition, the Cartesian appointed co-founder Metin Kurtoglu, M.D., Ph.D., as the Company's first Chief Operating Officer, responsible for bridging clinical operations with the cGMP manufacturing and translational medicine groups. Cartesian also announced that it has expanded its cGMP manufacturing facility in Gaithersburg, MD to support its growing clinical pipeline.
"We are delighted to have Miloš join our leadership team at Cartesian," said Murat Kalayoglu, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer at Cartesian Therapeutics. "His experience in developing and executing clinical programs will be a valuable addition to our team as we accelerate development of our three clinical-stage RNA cell therapies and matriculate new therapies into clinical trials."
Dr. Miljković added, "I am eager to lead Cartesian's engagement with the medical community and regulators throughout clinical development. I am impressed by the pace of progress at Cartesian to date, highlighted by recent positive clinical data from the ongoing Phase 1/2a clinical trial of Descartes-08 in generalized Myasthenia Gravis (gMG). Cartesian's focus on using the cell as both a factory for producing, as well as a vehicle for delivering, RNA therapeutics is a novel, highly differentiated strategy, one that has the potential to change the treatment paradigm for a spectrum of indications."
Dr. Miljković is board-certified in hematology, medical oncology, and internal medicine. Prior to joining Cartesian, he was a Staff Clinician at the National Cancer Institute for over seven years, where he specialized in early-stage trials in immuno-oncology. Dr. Miljković has served as Principal Investigator on 6 clinical trials of immunotherapy and targeted agents and as Associate Investigator on more than 20 others. He completed residency at the Johns Hopkins University and Sinai Hospital of Baltimore program in internal medicine, followed by clinical and research fellowships in the joint NCI/NHLBI program at the NIH, where he also served as Chief Fellow.
Meanwhile, Cartesian is nearly doubling its footprint in Gaithersburg to accommodate the Company's growing need for GMP manufacturing and clinical operations space. As part of this expansion, Cartesian expects to double its headcount in 2022.
Dr. Kurtoglu stated, "Our in-house cGMP manufacturing capabilities are essential to our long-term strategy: to pioneer RNA cell therapy as a new therapeutic modality. As COO, I look forward to working closely with Miloš to create an optimal environment for cross-functional development of our RNA cell therapies."
About Cartesian Therapeutics
Founded in 2016 and with three assets in clinical trials, Cartesian is the leader in RNA cell therapy. The company is pioneering RNA cell therapies in and beyond oncology, with products in development for autoimmune, oncologic and respiratory disorders. All investigational therapies are manufactured at Cartesian's wholly owned, state-of-the-art cGMP manufacturing facility in Gaithersburg, MD. For more information visit www.cartesiantherapeutics.com.
Media Contacts:
Maggie Beller for Cartesian Therapeutics
Russo Partners, LLC
[email protected]
646-942-5631
SOURCE Cartesian Therapeutics
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