Mark Gergen to
assume role of Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of
Poseida; Kristin Yarema, Ph.D.,
currently President, Cell Therapy, to be appointed President and
CEO
SAN
DIEGO, Oct. 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Poseida
Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: PSTX), a clinical-stage cell and gene
therapy company advancing a new class of treatments for patients
with cancer and rare diseases, today announced the appointment of
Mark Gergen as Executive Chairman
and the transition of Kristin
Yarema, Ph.D., currently President, Cell Therapy, to the
role of President and Chief Executive Officer, each expected to be
effective January 1, 2024.
"I am proud of the progress Poseida has made since I joined the
company almost six years ago. It has been an honor to work with the
Poseida team to make significant advances in our capabilities and
position," said Mark Gergen, current
Chief Executive Officer of Poseida Therapeutics. "With this
leadership transition, our goal is to set the Company up for
success in its next phase of growth as we continue to redefine cell
and gene therapy."
A 30-year biotechnology industry veteran, Mr. Gergen joined
Poseida in February 2018. He has
served as Chief Executive Officer of the Company since February 2022 and was named Chairman of the Board
in February 2023. Previously, Mr.
Gergen served as President and Chief Business Officer (CBO), after
initially joining the Company as Chief Financial Officer and CBO.
Under Mr. Gergen's leadership, the Company has executed a number of
strategic transactions, including a research collaboration with
Takeda focused on non-viral gene therapy announced in October 2021 and later terminated due to a
strategic change in direction at Takeda, a global collaboration
with Roche focused on allogeneic cell therapies in hematological
malignancies announced in July 2022
and a $50 million strategic
investment from Astellas Pharma in August
2023.
"With the Company on a strong foundation, the time is right to
transition the role of CEO to Kristin
Yarema – a proven leader in allogeneic cell therapy with
deep experience across the entire spectrum of drug discovery,
development, and commercialization spanning multiple disease
areas," Mr. Gergen continued. "As I move into the role of Executive
Chairman, I look forward to continuing to lead the Board of
Directors and focus on additional strategic opportunities for the
business. I'm excited to work closely with Kristin as she assumes
the CEO role and continue to work with Brent Warner, President Gene Therapy, on strategically advancing our
gene therapy pipeline."
Now in her third decade in the biopharmaceutical industry, Dr.
Yarema joined the Company as President of Cell Therapy in
April 2023, bringing extensive
biopharmaceutical experience in oncology and allogeneic T cell
immunotherapy. Prior to Poseida she served as Chief Commercial
Officer at Atara Biotherapeutics where she led the
commercialization of EBVALLO™️, which became the world's first
marketed allogeneic T cell therapy after receiving regulatory
approval in Europe for the
treatment of a rare lymphoma. Previously, Dr. Yarema held a series
of U.S. and global commercial leadership roles at Amgen, including
most recently Vice President & Therapeutic Area Head for Global
Product Strategy & Commercial Innovation in
Hematology-Oncology. Earlier in her career, Dr. Yarema worked at
Novartis and McKinsey & Company. Dr. Yarema holds a Ph.D. in
Chemical Engineering from University of
California, Berkeley and is a graduate of Stanford University, where she earned dual
bachelor's degrees in Chemical Engineering and English. She also
serves on the boards of directors of the Alliance for Regenerative
Medicine and the Celiac Disease Foundation.
"It will be a great honor to lead Poseida as President and CEO,
and I want to thank Mark for both his continued partnership and
exceptional leadership in building the Company into what it is
today," said Dr. Yarema. "It is a privilege to work alongside the
outstanding employees at Poseida, and with our strategic partners,
as we focus on unlocking the promise of cell and gene therapy for
patients with serious diseases. I am highly excited about our
powerful, proprietary technologies and I look forward to boldly
developing advanced, novel medicines with the potential to
transform patient outcomes in cancer and rare genetic
diseases."
About Poseida Therapeutics, Inc.
Poseida Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical
company advancing differentiated cell and gene therapies with the
capacity to cure certain cancers and rare diseases. The Company's
pipeline includes allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy product candidates
for both solid and liquid tumors as well as in vivo gene therapy
product candidates that address patient populations with high unmet
medical need. The Company's approach to cell and gene therapies is
based on its proprietary genetic editing platforms, including its
non-viral piggyBac® DNA Delivery System, Cas-CLOVER™ Site-Specific
Gene Editing System and nanoparticle and hybrid gene delivery
technologies as well as in-house cell therapy manufacturing. The
Company has formed a global strategic collaboration with Roche to
unlock the promise of cell therapies for patients with
hematological malignancies. Learn more at www.poseida.com and
connect with us on X and LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this press release regarding matters
that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include statements
regarding, among other things, expected plans with respect to
clinical trials, including timing of regulatory submissions and
approvals and clinical data updates; anticipated timelines and
milestones with respect to the Company's development programs and
manufacturing activities and capabilities; the potential
capabilities and benefits of the Company's technology platforms and
product candidates; the quotes from Mr. Gergen and Dr. Yarema;
future contributions of the Company's directors and executive
officers; the timing of the expected leadership transition; and the
Company's plans and strategy with respect to developing its
technologies and product candidates. Because such statements are
subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ
materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon the
Company's current expectations and involve assumptions that may
never materialize or may prove to be incorrect. Actual results
could differ materially from those anticipated in such
forward-looking statements as a result of various risks and
uncertainties, which include, without limitation, the Company's
reliance on third parties for various aspects of its business;
risks and uncertainties associated with development and regulatory
approval of novel product candidates in the biopharmaceutical
industry; the Company's ability to retain key scientific or
management personnel; and the other risks described in the
Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All
forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak
only as of the date on which they were made. The Company undertakes
no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that
occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were
made, except as required by law.
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SOURCE Poseida Therapeutics, Inc.