SanBio, Inc. Names Mohammad El-Kalay New Technical Operations SVP

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SanBio, Inc., a leader in regenerative cell therapies, today announced the appointment of Mohammad El-Kalay, PhD, as Senior Vice President of Technical Operations. In this role, Dr. El-Kalay will be responsible for all technical operations, from process development, production, and supply chain management, to quality control and quality assurance.

“I have never encountered a technical operations executive with such deep experience in cell therapy processing and manufacturing. Mohammed’s deep scientific understanding, plus his extensive real-world experience, makes him the ideal executive to lead our technical operations and make SanBio’s vision of scalable cellular therapies a reality.”

Dr. El-Kalay has one of the industry’s most extensive backgrounds in the development and manufacturing of cell therapies. He served as a key team member in pioneering companies such as Applied Immune Sciences, Systemix, and Osiris Therapeutics, then led technical operations teams in Vice President roles at Morphogen Pharmaceuticals, Telos Pharmaceuticals, and MicroIslet. In 2006, Dr. El-Kalay founded a cellular therapy company EyeCyte, focusing on retinal diseases, and served as its Chief Executive Officer until 2013. More recently, he served as Vice President of Process Development and Manufacturing at StemCells, Inc. and as Vice President of Technical Operations at Sangamo Therapeutics.

"My passion is in cellular therapies, and my entire career has been devoted to realizing the huge potential of this technology," said El-Kalay. "SanBio’s clinical results are very promising, and its vision to bring cellular therapies into large-scale commercial application using allogeneic methods, is exactly the right direction for the industry."

A PhD chemical/biomedical engineer from Strathclyde University, Glasgow, Dr. El-Kalay has repeatedly established production processes and GMP manufacturing at a number of companies, bringing cellular therapies from preclinical stage to Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3 clinical trials.

"We're delighted to welcome Mohammad," said Keita Mori, SanBio's Chief Executive Officer. "I have never encountered a technical operations executive with such deep experience in cell therapy processing and manufacturing. Mohammed’s deep scientific understanding, plus his extensive real-world experience, makes him the ideal executive to lead our technical operations and make SanBio’s vision of scalable cellular therapies a reality."

"SanBio has always maintained that allogeneic cell lines, with their consistent quality, rapid delivery, and excellent cost-effectiveness, offer tremendous practical advantages in commercial rollout," continued Mr. Mori. "The rest of the industry is only now appreciating these benefits, and we think we are years ahead on practical implementation. Mohammed’s presence at SanBio brings the day closer when patients everywhere can benefit from the great promise of regenerative medicine."

About SanBio, Inc. (SanBio)
SanBio is a regenerative medicine company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, and Mountain View, California, with cell-based products in various stages of research, development, and clinical trials. Its proprietary cell-based product, SB623, is currently in a Phase 2b clinical trial for treatment of chronic motor impairments resulting from stroke with its joint development partner, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Ltd., in the United States and Canada. SanBio is also implementing a global Phase 2 clinical trial in the United States and Japan using SB623 for treatment of motor impairment resulting from traumatic brain injury. More information about SanBio, Inc. is available at http://sanbio.com.