BOSTON, Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sensei Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNSE), an immunotherapy company focused on the discovery and development of next generation therapeutics for cancer, today announced two key promotions within the company’s senior management team. Erin Colgan, formerly senior vice president of finance and administration, has been appointed to chief financial officer. Robert Pierce, M.D., formerly chief scientific officer, has been appointed chief research & development officer and will have additional responsibility for drug discovery, translational medicine, and clinical development of Sensei’s pipeline programs.
“Both Erin and Rob have made substantial contributions to Sensei, including critical roles in our initial public offering and pipeline expansion, respectively,” said John Celebi, chief executive officer of Sensei Biotherapeutics. “They have each built strong teams and helped Sensei navigate a high level of growth within a complex environment. Their promotions reflect not only their accomplishments to this point, but our confidence in their respective abilities to help lead the Company into the future”
Erin Colgan joined Sensei Biotherapeutics in 2020 and has been responsible for all accounting, finance, and business functions. Previously, Ms. Colgan was the vice president of financial and commercial planning and analysis at Intarcia Therapeutics, running the annual budgeting process as well as helping the company to prepare for a potential launch of their Type II diabetes product. She also held various accounting and finance roles of increasing responsibility over a nine-year career at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, including European Controller supporting the launch of their global cystic fibrosis franchise, overseeing the company-wide annual budgeting process, and several years leading the global commercial planning process. Ms. Colgan began her career in public accounting at PwC where she worked in both audit and business development. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Dr. Pierce has more than two decades of scientific leadership and experience managing large teams dedicated to translational medicine platforms in academia and industry, particularly in immuno-oncology. His research has focused on the mechanisms of tumor-induced immune tolerance and he has longstanding expertise in the development of biomarkers to predict responses to immuno-oncology treatments. Prior to Sensei, he was the scientific director of the Immunopathology Lab in the Clinical Research Division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Previously at Merck, Dr. Pierce led a team focused on the development of tissue-based biomarkers for Merck’s anti-PD- 1 therapeutic antibody (pembrolizumab; KEYTRUDA®) and was the medical lead responsible for initiating the clinical trials of pembrolizumab in merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) and cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL). He was also previously the chief medical officer and, subsequently, chief scientific officer of OncoSec Medical. Dr. Pierce is a board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with a strong academic and industry background in immuno-oncology. Dr. Pierce received his B.A in philosophy from Yale College and his M.D. from Brown University and residency training at the University of Washington.
About Sensei Biotherapeutics
Sensei Biotherapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in discovery, development, and delivery of next generation immunotherapies with an initial focus on treatments for cancer. Sensei has developed two unique approaches – its TMAb™ (Tumor Microenvironment Activated biologics) platform, comprising unique human monoclonal antibodies and alpaca derived nanobodies that are selectively active in the tumor microenvironment, and its ImmunoPhage™ platform that leverages bacteriophage to drive potent anti-tumor immune responses. Using its TMAb platform, the company has developed SNS-101, an antibody-based therapeutic in lead generation targeting an immune checkpoint gene that inhibits anti-tumor immune responses called V-domain Ig suppressor of T cell activation (VISTA). Using the ImmunoPhage platform, Sensei is developing a library of ImmunoPhage, called Phortress™, with multiple tumor-associated antigens to create a personalized, yet off-the-shelf cocktail approach for treating cancer patients. The platform is designed to enable efficient, scalable and cost-effective manufacturing to support all of Sensei’s clinical programs. SNS-401-NG is an ImmunoPhage cocktail in preclinical development for the treatment of Merkel Cell Carcinoma. For more information, please visit www.senseibio.com, and follow the company on Twitter @SenseiBio and LinkedIn.
Investor Contact:
Erin Colgan
Chief Financial Officer
Sensei Biotherapeutics
ecolgan@senseibio.com
