Acepodia Announces Expansion of Board of Directors and Scientific Advisory Board

• David V. Smith to join Board of Directors
• Elizabeth Smith and Richard Lopez, M.D., to join Scientific Advisory Board

ALAMEDA, Calif., Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Acepodia, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing first-in-class cell therapies with its unique Antibody-Cell Conjugation (ACC) platform technology to address gaps in cancer care, today announced it has appointed David V. Smith to its Board of Directors and Elizabeth Smith and Richard Lopez, M.D., to its Scientific Advisory Board.

“Following our recent Series C funding milestone, we are pleased to bring on a strong roster of industry leaders who bring deep expertise across allogeneic cell therapy development, regulatory affairs, and finance, to help us bring forth next-generation cell therapies for the people who need them most,” said Sonny Hsiao, Ph.D., chief executive officer, president and co-founder of Acepodia.

David V. Smith

Mr. Smith currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors at Codexis and Neurelis and most recently served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Five Prime Therapeutics, acquired by Amgen in 2021. Additionally, he served as Chief Operating Officer at IntegenX. Previously in his career, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Thoratec Corp., Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Chiron Corp., Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Anergen Inc., and held various financial management positions at Genentech, IBM and Syntex Corp. He received an MBA from Golden Gate University and a B.A. in Economics and History at Willamette University.

“I am honored to join such a strong board of directors and bring more than 30 years of financial and operational management experience across private and public companies to support the long-term growth and success of Acepodia,” Mr. Smith said.

Elizabeth Smith

Ms. Smith has more than 25 years of experience in providing regulatory guidance and strategy support, with a specialty in biologics, drugs, and cell and gene therapies. Ms. Smith currently serves as the Deputy Director of Regulatory Affairs at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Prior to this role, Ms. Smith held various roles at Juno Therapeutics, first as Senior Advisor to the CEO, then as Senior Vice President of Regulatory and Quality, where she spearheaded efforts to establish regulatory strategies for multiple genetically engineered cell therapy assets. Following this role, Ms. Smith also served as Senior Strategic Advisor to the company’s development teams and the President of R&D. Prior to Juno Therapeutics, she served as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Dendreon, and has held various regulatory positions at Genentech, where she began her career in manufacturing. Ms. Smith graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in biology from Central Washington University.

“I am thrilled to join the Acepodia Scientific Advisory Board and look forward to applying my expertise in regulatory affairs and strategy to support the company in advancing its revolutionary platform of cell therapies in both the development and commercial stages,” Ms. Smith said.

Richard Lopez, M.D.

Dr. Lopez is a physician-scientist specializing in allogeneic cellular therapies and an expert in the area of gamma delta T cell cancer immunotherapies. Through his efforts in industry and medical practice, Dr. Lopez aims to improve the outcomes of patients affected by hematologic malignances or solid tumors. He is the Founder and CEO of PhosphoGam, a biotechnology company working to revolutionize cancer cellular immunotherapy using off-the-shelf allogeneic human gamma delta T cells. He is also Associate Professor of Medicine at Duke University School of Medicine where he engages in extensive research in hematology. Dr. Lopez received an M.D. from Stanford University School of Medicine, where he also completed his medical residency and his fellowship in medical oncology and bone marrow transplantation.

“I am enthusiastic about the broad applicability of Acepodia’s technology platform and look forward to applying my passion and expertise in cell therapy development and hematology research to help Acepodia advance its mission to address gaps in cancer care using their unique cell therapy technology,” Dr. Lopez said.

About Acepodia

Acepodia is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing first-in-class cell therapies with its unique Antibody-Cell Conjugation (ACC) platform technology to address gaps in cancer care. Leveraging its ACC technology, the company links tumor-targeting antibodies to its proprietary immune cells, such as gamma delta T cells and off-the-shelf natural killer (NK) cells to create novel antibody cell effector (ACE) therapies, which have increased binding strength against tumors that express low levels of tumor antigens. Acepodia is made up of seasoned leadership and scientific experts dedicated to advancing its robust pipeline of off-the-shelf ACE therapies with the potential to bring innovative, effective and affordable cell therapies to a broad population of patients across a variety of solid tumors and hematologic cancers. For more information, visit https://www.acepodia.com and follow Acepodia on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Acepodia Contact
Spike Lo
Acepodia
(415) 366-7822
spike@acepodiabio.com

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