Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. (Allogene), a biotechnology company with a mission to catalyze the next revolution of cell therapy through the advancement of allogeneic CAR T therapies, today announced the Company’s Board of Directors. Allogene was launched in April 2018 with one of the largest Series A financings in biotechnology of $300 million from a premier investment consortium that includes Two River, TPG, Vida Ventures, BellCo Capital, the University of California Office of the Chief Investment Officer, Gilead and Pfizer.

“Our Board of Directors will oversee and guide the long-term strategic plan of Allogene and assist in advancing our mission to lead the development of allogeneic cell therapy,” said Arie Belldegrun, M.D., FACS, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of Allogene. “Each member is highly distinguished and brings extensive expertise in gene and cell therapy to Allogene, while representing the key components needed to create a successful biotechnology company – healthcare investors, academics, pharma industry veterans, and biotech entrepreneurs.”

The Allogene Board of Directors

  • Arie Belldegrun, M.D., FACS – Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of Allogene
  • David Bonderman – Chairman and Founding Partner of TPG
  • David Chang, M.D., Ph.D. – President, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Allogene
  • Franz B. Humer, Ph.D. – Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Roche Holding Ltd.
  • John DeYoung – Vice President, Worldwide Business Development at Pfizer
  • Joshua Kazam – Co-Founder and Partner of Two River and Co-Founder of Allogene
  • Owen Witte, M.D. – University Professor of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics at the UCLA, David Saxon Presidential Chair in Developmental Immunology; and Director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA
  • Robert Abraham, Ph.D. - Senior Vice President and Group Head, Oncology R&D Group at Pfizer
  • Todd Sisitsky – Managing Partner of TPG Capital

Allogene acquired Pfizer’s allogeneic CAR T portfolio which included the rights to 16 preclinical CAR T assets licensed from Cellectis and Servier and one clinical asset licensed from Servier, UCART19, an allogeneic CAR T therapy that is being developed for treatment of CD19-expressing hematological malignancies. In partnership with Servier, UCART19 is initially being developed in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and is currently in Phase 1.

About Allogene Therapeutics

Allogene Therapeutics is a biotechnology company with a mission to catalyze the next revolution in cancer treatment through the development of allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) therapy directed at blood cancers and solid tumors. Founded and led by former Kite Pharma executives who bring unrivaled clinical development acumen in cell therapy, Allogene is well-positioned to further the potential of allogeneic cell therapy for patients.

Allogeneic CAR T therapies are engineered from cells of healthy donors and stored for “off-the-shelf” use in patients. This approach eliminates the need to create personalized therapy from a patient’s own cells, simplifies manufacturing, and reduces the time patients must wait for CAR T treatment. The Allogene portfolio includes 16 pre-clinical T cell therapy assets and UCART19, an allogeneic CAR T therapy currently in Phase 1 development for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Through its notable partnerships, Allogene leverages pioneering technology platforms, including TALEN® gene editing technology, to progress its portfolio of immuno-oncology therapies. Allogene, with headquarters in San Francisco, California, is a Two River portfolio company formed with one of the largest Series A financings in biotechnology from an investment consortium that includes TPG, Vida Ventures, BellCo Capital, the University of California Office of the Chief Investment Officer, Gilead and Pfizer. For more information, please visit www.allogene.com, and follow @AllogeneTx on Twitter and LinkedIn.