CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- TCR2 Therapeutics Inc., an innovative immunotherapy company developing the next generation of novel T cell receptor (TCR) therapies for patients suffering from cancer, today announced the appointment of Andrew Allen, M.D., Ph.D. to its Board of Directors. An industry leader with expertise in cancer clinical development, Dr. Allen co-founded Gritstone Oncology, Inc., (NASDAQ: GRTS) in 2015, and currently serves as Gritstone's President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and member of its Board of Directors.
Garry Menzel, Ph.D., President and CEO of TCR2 stated: "We are thrilled to have Andrew join TCR2's Board of Directors. His wealth of experience and proven track record of strategic business and clinical development accomplishments will be invaluable as we continue to advance our TCR Fusion Construct technology and design our oncology programs for success in treating cancer patients."
Dr. Allen brings 20 years of experience in the global pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life science industries. Prior to Gritstone, Dr. Allen co-founded Clovis Oncology, a public pharmaceutical development company, and served as its executive vice president of clinical and preclinical development and chief medical officer. Previously, he was chief medical officer at Pharmion Corporation (acquired by Celgene for $2.9B), served in oncology clinical development leadership roles at Chiron Corporation and Abbott Laboratories, and worked at McKinsey & Company, where he advised life science companies on strategic issues. He currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Epizyme, Inc., and Sierra Oncology, Inc., two public biopharmaceutical companies, and Revitope Oncology, Inc. (private); he previously served on the Board of Directors of Cell Design Labs, a private biotechnology company, from November 2015 until its acquisition by Gilead Sciences, Inc. in December 2017. Dr. Allen qualified in medicine at Oxford University and received a Ph.D. in immunology from Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in London.
"TCR2 has considerable momentum and I am excited to be joining the company's Board of Directors. I believe the Company's TCR Fusion Construct platform has significant potential to produce transformative medicines, particularly for the many cancers for which unmet medical needs still exist," said Dr. Allen.
About TCR2 TherapeuticsTCR2 is an innovative immunotherapy company developing the next generation of novel T cell therapies for patients suffering from cancer based on its T cell receptor (TCR) Fusion Construct platform. TCR2's proprietary TCR Fusion Construct T cells (TRuC-T cells) specifically recognize and kill cancer cells by harnessing the entire TCR signaling complex without the need for HLA-matching. Based on preclinical studies comparing TCR2's product candidates to chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cells that the Company engineered, TCR2 believes that its product candidates have the potential to improve upon the efficacy and safety of currently approved CAR-T cell therapies in CD19-positive B-cell hematological malignancies. TCR2 was founded in 2015 by renowned German immunologist Dr. Patrick Baeuerle and now led by a world-class team of immunotherapy experts and entrepreneurs in the heart of Kendall Square in Cambridge, MA. For more information, please visit www.tcr2.com.
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Garry Menzel, Ph.D., President and CEO of TCR2 stated: "We are thrilled to have Andrew join TCR2's Board of Directors. His wealth of experience and proven track record of strategic business and clinical development accomplishments will be invaluable as we continue to advance our TCR Fusion Construct technology and design our oncology programs for success in treating cancer patients."
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Dr. Allen brings 20 years of experience in the global pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life science industries. Prior to Gritstone, Dr. Allen co-founded Clovis Oncology, a public pharmaceutical development company, and served as its executive vice president of clinical and preclinical development and chief medical officer. Previously, he was chief medical officer at Pharmion Corporation (acquired by Celgene for $2.9B), served in oncology clinical development leadership roles at Chiron Corporation and Abbott Laboratories, and worked at McKinsey & Company, where he advised life science companies on strategic issues. He currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Epizyme, Inc., and Sierra Oncology, Inc., two public biopharmaceutical companies, and Revitope Oncology, Inc. (private); he previously served on the Board of Directors of Cell Design Labs, a private biotechnology company, from November 2015 until its acquisition by Gilead Sciences, Inc. in December 2017. Dr. Allen qualified in medicine at Oxford University and received a Ph.D. in immunology from Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in London.
"TCR2 has considerable momentum and I am excited to be joining the company's Board of Directors. I believe the Company's TCR Fusion Construct platform has significant potential to produce transformative medicines, particularly for the many cancers for which unmet medical needs still exist," said Dr. Allen.
About TCR2 TherapeuticsTCR2 is an innovative immunotherapy company developing the next generation of novel T cell therapies for patients suffering from cancer based on its T cell receptor (TCR) Fusion Construct platform. TCR2's proprietary TCR Fusion Construct T cells (TRuC-T cells) specifically recognize and kill cancer cells by harnessing the entire TCR signaling complex without the need for HLA-matching. Based on preclinical studies comparing TCR2's product candidates to chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cells that the Company engineered, TCR2 believes that its product candidates have the potential to improve upon the efficacy and safety of currently approved CAR-T cell therapies in CD19-positive B-cell hematological malignancies. TCR2 was founded in 2015 by renowned German immunologist Dr. Patrick Baeuerle and now led by a world-class team of immunotherapy experts and entrepreneurs in the heart of Kendall Square in Cambridge, MA. For more information, please visit www.tcr2.com.
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SOURCE TCR2 Therapeutics
