London, 7 July 2015 – Autolus Limited (“Autolus”), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialisation of next-generation engineered T-cell therapies for haematological and solid tumours, announced today that it has recruited two key leaders of the business:
• Jim Faulkner, former Vice President, Manufacturing and Supply, GSK Rare Diseases unit, has been appointed as Head of Manufacturing
• Louise Holliday, former Partner at leading patent firm D Young and Co LLP, has been appointed as Head of Intellectual Property
Dr Edward Hodgkin, Chief Executive Officer of Autolus, said:
“Our team is expanding at a rapid rate and our two new recruits are industry leaders with in-depth knowledge of the Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) immunotherapy space. Jim Faulkner has the perfect background to scale CAR manufacturing processes from their academic origins to a commercial environment. Louise Holliday will ensure that we protect the intellectual property around our products and the company’s unique T-cell programming technology.”
About Dr Jim Faulkner, Head of Manufacturing
Jim Faulkner joins from GlaxoSmithkline, where he spent 15 years in a series of progressively senior roles within the Biopharmaceutical R&D Unit, latterly serving as Vice President, Manufacturing and Supply within the GSK Rare Diseases unit. Jim’s role spanned all the unit’s projects and products including their ex vivo autologous gene therapy portfolio, therapeutic oligonucleotides and monoclonal antibodies. Previously Jim worked within small biotech and has also held academic posts. He received a BSc in Biotechnology from Leeds University and a PhD in Molecular Biology in association with the University of Kent and has authored a number of publications and patents in the field of biopharmaceutical development.
About Dr Louise Holliday, Head of Intellectual Property
Louise Holliday joins from leading IP firm, D Young and Co LLP, where she was a partner for over 10 years. While at D Young & Co LLP her clients included academic departments, research institutes, start-ups, SMEs and larger biotech companies. She specialised in all types of biotech patent work, in particular molecular immunology, antibodies, vaccines and stem cells. Her caseload involved a significant amount of opinion work, including freedom to operate analysis, due diligence, patentability analysis and advising clients on infringement and validity matters. Prior to joining D Young & Co LLP, Louise worked in private practice in Bristol. She is a Chartered Patent Attorney and a European Patent Attorney. She also holds an MA in Biochemistry from New College, Oxford and a PhD in Molecular Immunology from University College London.
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Further information:
JW Communications
Julia Wilson
+44 (0)7818 430877
Notes for Editors:
About Autolus
Autolus is a private biopharmaceutical company, focused on the development and commercialisation of engineered T-cell immunotherapy products based on its proprietary T-cell programming technology. The shortcomings of current CAR treatment include a lack of selective tumour targeting mechanisms, serious side-effects associated with efficacy and the inability to overcome the hostile solid tumour microenvironment. Autolus is developing T-cell products incorporating technology components designed to overcome these shortcomings and to allow programmable CAR T-cell activity tailored for specific clinical situations. It is expected that this platform will provide a source of sustainable competitive advantage in both haematological and solid cancers, most of which are not addressable using the current CAR technology. Autolus’ shareholders include Syncona LLP and UCL Business PLC. For further information please visit the Company’s website at: www.autolus.com
About Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) Immunotherapy
CAR immunotherapy involves re-programming a patient’s immune system to kill tumour cells. T-cells are extracted from a patient’s blood, manipulated outside the body to incorporate the CAR gene, and then returned to the patient by infusion. The CAR gene introduces a targeting mechanism to the T-cells, enabling them to recognise, engage and destroy tumour cells in a highly-specific manner. Initial clinical trials of CAR T-cells in B-cell malignancies, including acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (“ALL”), suggest that this approach may transform treatment of cancer patients, many of whom have no other therapeutic options.
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