WATERTOWN, Mass., May 29, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SQZ Biotechnologies (SQZ), a cell therapy company developing novel treatments for multiple therapeutic areas, today announced the appointment of Isaac Ciechanover, MD, MBA, to the company’s board of directors. Dr. Ciechanover has spent the last two decades as a physician, investor and entrepreneur in the life sciences industry, most recently as founder and CEO of Atara Biotherapeutics.
“We are delighted to welcome Isaac to the SQZ board. Isaac brings deep experience in cell therapy drug development and coupled with his many decades of work in the life sciences as an operator, investor and strategist, his expertise will strengthen our board during this critical time,” said Amy Schulman, executive chair of the SQZ Biotech board of directors.
Armon Sharei, PhD, founder and CEO of SQZ, commented, “Isaac will bring invaluable insight and perspective as we continue to make progress on our therapeutic programs and prepare to initiate our first clinical study with a SQZ therapeutic.”
Dr. Ciechanover added, “SQZ’s innovative cell therapy platform and the therapeutics the company is creating have great promise for patients and can impact multiple diseases. Coupled with their advances in efficient cell therapy manufacturing, this is a truly unique opportunity, and I am enthusiastic about being a part of the team at this pivotal stage.”
Dr. Ciechanover has dedicated the past 20 years to working with entrepreneurs and life sciences organizations to advance medicine through innovation and technology. He founded Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc., an allogeneic T cell immunotherapy company developing novel treatments for patients with cancer, autoimmune and viral diseases, in August 2012 and served as the company’s president and chief executive officer until 2019. Prior to his time at Atara, he worked as a partner in the life sciences practice at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and earlier, at Celgene as both an executive director for business development and a global project leader for the company’s first clinical-stage biologic therapy. Additionally, Dr. Ciechanover has held business development and venture capital roles at Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Pequot Ventures’ healthcare practice and Pfizer. Dr. Ciechanover received his MD from the Weill Cornell Medical College, MBA from the Harvard Business School, an MPhil in Epidemiology from the University of Cambridge and a BA in psychology from Stanford University.
About SQZ Biotech
SQZ Biotech is a privately held company creating innovative treatments by transforming cells into sophisticated therapeutics. Using its proprietary platform, SQZ has the unique ability to precision engineer any cell type and deliver multiple materials, resulting in powerful, multifunctional cell therapies for a range of diseases with an initial focus on cancer and autoimmune disease. The first applications for the company leverage SQZ’s ability to generate target-specific immune responses, both in activation for the treatment of solid tumors, and immune suppression for the treatment of auto- immune diseases. For more information please visit www.sqzbiotech.com.
SQZ Contact:
Rebecca Cohen
Senior Manager, Corporate Relations
rebecca.cohen@sqzbiotech.com
617-758-8672 ext. 728
Media Contact:
Cait Williamson, PhD
LifeSci Public Relations
cait@lifescipublicrelations.com
646-751-4366