Respected leader brings expertise in immunology and cell therapy
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Immusoft Corporation, a Seattle, Wash.-based biopharmaceutical company focused on reengineering the body’s B cells to treat diseases, announced today that Jason D. Fontenot, Ph.D., has joined its leadership team as Chief Scientific Officer.
Dr. Fontenot has extensive research and drug development expertise, most recently serving as the Head of Exploratory Research at Juno Therapeutics, which was acquired by Celgene for $9 billion earlier this year.
He is an internationally recognized immunologist with expertise in immune cell biology, cell engineering and immune-mediated disease. The groundbreaking work that Dr. Fontenot and his colleagues conducted on regulatory T cells and the transcription factor, FOXP3, transformed the study of immune regulation and has resulted in some of the most highly cited publications in the field of immunology in the last 20 years.
“I am very excited to join Immusoft,” says Dr. Fontenot. “They have developed a remarkable and robust cell therapy platform that has the potential to revolutionize the treatment of human diseases in multiple therapeutic areas. I look forward to building and expanding upon Immusoft’s foundational work to develop potentially curative therapies for patients.”
While at Juno Therapeutics, Dr. Fontenot was responsible for advancing the company’s early stage engineered T cell therapy pipeline and overseeing the development of next generation cellular and genetic engineering strategies in collaboration with internal and external partners. He also managed major research partnerships with leading biotech and academic institutions.
“Jason is a substantial addition to the Immusoft team, and we are pleased that he has chosen to join us,” says Sean Ainsworth, Immusoft’s CEO and Chairman of the Board. “He has the breadth and depth of experience to deepen our understanding of the immune system and modified B cell therapy. We expect his contributions to help us rapidly advance our current programs and extend our platform.”
Prior to his time at Juno Therapeutics, Dr. Fontenot worked for nearly a decade as a group leader in the immunology department at Biogen in Cambridge, Mass., where his team focused on T cell biology and immune regulation. He worked on several high profile immunomodulatory drug development programs.
ABOUT IMMUSOFT
Immusoft Corporation’s (immusoft.com) mission is to treat diseases using its breakthrough technology platform called Immune System Programming (ISP™). The technology modifies a patient’s B cells and instructs the cells to produce gene-encoded medicines (biologics). The B cells that are reprogrammed using ISP become miniature drug factories that are expected to survive in patients for many years. Founded in 2009, Immusoft is based in Seattle, Wash.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical are forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current plans, estimates and projections. The beliefs, assumptions and expectations on which these statements are based can change as a result of many possible events or factors, not all of which are known to Immusoft Corporation or are within its control. Immusoft Corporation undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement in light of new information or future events. Actual results or outcomes may differ from those implied by the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of operational, scientific, regulatory and related risks and uncertainties.
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Contacts
for Immusoft Corporation
Mike Wussow, 615-538-0251
Source: Immusoft Corporation
