Autolus Therapeutics announces the appointment of John H. Johnson as non-executive chairman of its Board of Directors
September 15 2021 - 7:00AM
Autolus Therapeutics plc (Nasdaq: AUTL), a clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation programmed T
cell therapies, today announced that John H. Johnson has been
appointed as non-executive chairman of its Board of Directors,
effective September 15, 2021. Dr. Martin Murphy, who previously
served as chairman, will continue to serve as a non-executive Board
member.
Mr. Johnson brings to Autolus more than 30 years
of experience in the life science industry. He is currently chief
executive officer and a director of Strongbridge Biopharma plc, a
NASDAQ listed commercial stage biopharmaceutical company. He
previously served as the executive chairman of the company from
November 2019 to July 2020, and as chairman from March 2015 to
November 2019. He is a recognized leader in the biopharmaceutical
industry and has held executive, operations and commercial
leadership roles at Eli Lilly & Company, ImClone, Johnson &
Johnson, and Pfizer. He also currently serves as a member of the
Board of Directors of Verastem, Inc and Axogen, Inc. Mr. Johnson
previously served on the Board of Directors of Pharmaceutical
Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the Health Section
Governing Board of Biotechnology Industry Organizations (BIO),
BioNJ and holds a BS from the East Stroudsburg University of
Pennsylvania.
“We are entering an exciting time in Autolus’
evolution as we progress obe-cel towards pivotal data and the
expectation that obe-cel could become the first stand-alone therapy
with curative potential for adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia
(ALL) patients,” said Dr. Christian Itin, chief executive officer
of Autolus. “Together with the entire board and management team I
am delighted to welcome John as chairman of our Board. John’s
experience in leading oncology-focused commercial-stage
biopharmaceutical businesses will be invaluable as we start
preparing for a successful outcome of the ongoing pivotal FELIX
study of obe-cel.”
“I am delighted to serve as chairman of Autolus
at such an important time in the Company’s development,” said John
H. Johnson. “I am confident in Autolus’ ability to deliver its
first pivotal data for its lead program in 2022 and am excited to
work closely with the Board and Autolus’ experienced senior
management team to develop therapies that may offer cancer patients
substantial benefits over existing standards of care.”
About Autolus Therapeutics
plcAutolus is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company
developing next-generation, programmed T cell therapies for the
treatment of cancer. Using a broad suite of proprietary and modular
T cell programming technologies, the company is engineering
precisely targeted, controlled and highly active T cell therapies
that are designed to better recognize cancer cells, break down
their defense mechanisms and eliminate these cells. Autolus has a
pipeline of product candidates in development for the treatment of
hematological malignancies and solid tumors. For more information
please visit www.autolus.com.
About Obe-cel Obe-cel is a
CD19 CAR T cell investigational therapy designed to overcome the
limitations in clinical activity and safety compared to current
CD19 CAR T cell therapies. Designed to have a fast target
binding off-rate to minimize excessive activation of the programmed
T cells, Obe-cel may reduce toxicity and be less prone to T cell
exhaustion, which could enhance persistence and improve the ability
of the programmed T cells to engage in serial killing of target
cancer cells. In collaboration with our academic partner, UCL,
Obe-cel is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial in
adult ALL and B-NHL. The company has also progressed Obe-cel to the
FELIX study, a potential pivotal study.
About Obe-cel
FELIX studyThe FELIX Phase 1b/2 clinical trial is
enrolling adult patients with relapsed / refractory ALL. The trial
has a short Phase 1b component prior to proceeding to a single arm
Phase 2 clinical trial. The primary endpoint is overall response
rate, and the key secondary endpoints include duration of response,
MRD negative CR rate and safety. The trial will enroll
approximately 100 patients across 30 of the leading academic and
non-academic centers in the United States, United
Kingdom and Europe.
Forward-Looking StatementsThis
press release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are
statements that are not historical facts, and in some cases can be
identified by terms such as "may," "will," "could," "expects,"
"plans," "anticipates," and "believes." These statements include,
but are not limited to, statements regarding the future clinical
development, efficacy, safety and therapeutic potential of obe-cel,
including progress, expectations as to the reporting of data,
conduct and timing and potential future clinical activity and
milestones; expectations regarding the initiation, design and
reporting of data from clinical trials. Any forward-looking
statements are based on management's current views and assumptions
and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results, performance, or events to differ materially from those
expressed or implied in such statements. These risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risks that
Autolus’ preclinical or clinical programs do not advance or result
in approved products on a timely or cost effective basis or at all;
the results of early clinical trials are not always being
predictive of future results; the cost, timing and results of
clinical trials; that many product candidates do not become
approved drugs on a timely or cost effective basis or at all; the
ability to enroll patients in clinical trials; possible safety and
efficacy concerns; and the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic
on Autolus’ business. For a discussion of other risks and
uncertainties, and other important factors, any of which could
cause Autolus’ actual results to differ from those contained in the
forward-looking statements, see the section titled "Risk Factors"
in Autolus' Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission on March 4, 2021, as well as discussions of
potential risks, uncertainties, and other important factors in
Autolus' subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. All information in this press release is as of the date
of the release, and Autolus undertakes no obligation to publicly
update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new
information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by
law.
Contacts:
Lucinda Crabtree, PhDVice President, Business
Strategy and Planning+44 (0) 7587 372
619l.crabtree@autolus.com
Julia Wilson+44 (0) 7818
430877j.wilson@autolus.com
Susan A. NoonanS.A. Noonan
Communications+1-212-966-3650susan@sanoonan.com
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