Sonoma Biotherapeutics Appoints Heidi Hagen, MBA as Chief Technical Officer

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. & SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Sonoma Biotherapeutics, an immune tolerance company focused on the development of novel regulatory T cell (T_reg) therapies for autoimmune and inflammatory disease, today announced the appointment of Heidi Hagen, MBA as Chief Technical Officer. With 30 years of experience as an operations executive in the life sciences industry, Hagen will lead the company’s technical operations, including process and analytical development, GMP manufacturing, supply chain management, quality systems and CMC development.

“We are excited to welcome Heidi to the Sonoma Bio executive team,” said Jeffrey Bluestone, Ph.D., Co-founder and CEO of Sonoma Biotherapeutics. “Her depth and breadth of experience in supply chain operations, manufacturing and commercialization of innovative technologies will be a tremendous asset as we work to advance our pipeline of innovative cell therapies and mature into a fully integrated scientific and clinical organization.”

As a seasoned biotechnology and operations executive, Hagen has successfully built organizations and programs within both established and startup environments, designed and built commercial manufacturing facilities, and streamlined complicated logistics and production systems in the gene and cell therapy industry. She most recently served as interim Chief Executive Officer and board member at Ziopharm Oncology, a cancer immunotherapy company. Prior to that, she co-founded Vineti, a software platform company for cell and gene therapy supply chain management, early on serving as the company’s Chief Strategy Officer. Her other previous leadership roles include interim Chief Commercial Officer at ZappRx, Global Chief Operating Officer at Sotio a.s., and Senior Vice President of Operations for Dendreon.

Hagen is a member of the board of directors of Obsidian Therapeutics, a biotechnology company pioneering engineered cell and gene therapies, and Vericel Corporation, a publicly traded commercial cell therapy company that sells and distributes MACI and Epicel. She earned a B.S. in cellular and molecular biology, an M.S. in bioengineering and an MBA from the University of Washington.

“Joining the talented and growing team at Sonoma Bio is an exciting new chapter of my career,” said Hagen. “I am eager to help advance Sonoma Bio’s pioneering process development and manufacturing operations as we look to harness the power of T_regs to address the unmet needs of those living with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.”

About Sonoma Biotherapeutics

Sonoma Biotherapeutics is a South San Francisco and Seattle-based company leading the development of adoptive T_reg cell therapies for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Using genome editing and target-specific cell therapy, Sonoma is focused on developing its best-in-class platform across the entire spectrum of T_reg cell therapeutic capabilities. Founded by pioneers in T_reg biology and cell therapy, the company brings together leading expertise and proprietary methodologies for the discovery and development of disease-modifying and curative therapies. For more information visit www.sonomabio.com and follow on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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