Gamida Cell Names Julian Adams, Ph.D. New Chairman of the Board

JERUSALEM, November 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Gamida Cell, a leader in cellular and immune therapies for the treatment of cancer and orphan genetic diseases, today announced the appointment of Julian Adams, Ph.D. as the Company's new chairman of the Board of Directors.

"I am very pleased to welcome Julian Adams as our new chairman after having joined our Board of Directors this past September," said Gamida Cell CEO Dr. Yael Margolin. "Gamida Cell is at a very important juncture, as we are about to begin a Phase 3 study of NiCord^® for high risk blood cancers and have also recently received FDA breakthrough therapy designation for this asset. We are confident that Julian's stewardship will strongly support the success of the late stage development and commercialization of our lead product NiCord during this critical time."

Dr. Adams has more than 30 years of experience in drug discovery and development with a strong focus on cancer. He currently serves as president of research and development at Infinity Pharmaceuticals, where he is responsible for the full spectrum of drug discovery, preclinical and clinical development, and regulatory affairs activities. Prior to joining Infinity in 2003, Dr. Adams was the senior vice president of drug discovery and development at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, where he headed multiple global drug discovery and development programs, including the successful Velcade^® (bortezomib) program. Dr. Adams also held senior positions in research and development at LeukoSite (acquired by Millennium) and at ProScript, as well as in medicinal chemistry at Boehringer Ingelheim, where he is credited with discovering Viramune^® (nevirapine) for HIV.  

Dr. Adams has won many awards, holds 40+ patents and has authored more than 100 papers and book chapters in peer-reviewed journals. He earned a B.S. from McGill University and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also received a Doctor of Science, honoris causa, from McGill University in 2012.

"I am delighted to accept the appointment of chairman. Gamida Cell is on a clear path to bringing NiCord to market and filling an important unmet need in bone marrow transplantation. It is my honor to guide the success of the NiCord program as well as the other significant clinical and corporate initiatives of the company," said Dr. Adams.

About Gamida Cell  

Gamida Cell is a world leader in cellular and immune therapies for the treatment of cancer and orphan genetic diseases. The company's pipeline of products are in development to treat a wide range of conditions including cancer, genetic hematological diseases such as sickle cell disease and thalassemia, bone marrow failure syndromes such as aplastic anemia, genetic metabolic diseases and refractory autoimmune diseases. Gamida Cell's current shareholders include Novartis, Elbit Imaging, Clal Biotechnology Industries, Israel Healthcare Venture, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Denali Ventures and Auriga Ventures.   For more information please visit http://www.gamida-cell.com.

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SOURCE Gamida Cell