Cell Medica, a provider of cell-based immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer, announced the appointment of Luis Borges, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer. Luis will spearhead the Company’s global research group, including teams in London, Zurich and Houston. Luis brings extensive knowledge of cancer immunotherapy from twenty years of experience in the field, including senior positions at Five Prime Therapeutics and Amgen, where he played a senior role in the discovery and development of several blockbuster drugs and therapeutic candidate molecules.

The company has significantly expanded its pre-clinical pipeline through partnerships with Baylor College of Medicine in the field of chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) and with University College London for engineered T cell receptors (TCRs). Luis will assume responsibility for the Company’s pre-clinical and early product development activities and will join the steering committees managing Cell Medica’s research collaborations.

Gregg Sando, Cell Medica’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Luis has extensive experience working with different technologies to develop drugs which activate and target the human immune system to treat cancer. His proven R&D management expertise will accelerate and de-risk our product generation capabilities.”

Dr Luis Borges, Cell Medica’s Chief Scientific Officer, added, “This is a remarkable time for the cellular immunotherapy industry. Cell Medica is well-positioned with advanced and differentiated technologies, which have the potential to make a real difference for cancer patients, and I look forward to joining a senior team which is committed to achieving this objective.”