Sana Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ: SANA), a company focused on
changing the possible for patients through engineered cells, today
announced the appointments of two senior leaders to its research
and development organization, Douglas E. Williams, Ph.D., as
President of Research and Development, and Gary Meininger, M.D., as
Chief Medical Officer. In a planned transition, Sunil Agarwal,
M.D., Chief Medical Officer, will leave the company after helping
onboard these new executives.
Dr. Williams has over three decades of experience leading
R&D organizations and companies, including at Biogen,
ZymoGenetics, Seattle Genetics, Amgen, and Immunex, and most
recently he was CEO of Codiak BioSciences. In his career, he has
participated in the development of over a dozen approved medicines
across multiple therapeutic areas, including multiple blockbusters.
Dr. Meininger has over two decades of experience in drug
development leadership, most recently at Vertex and previously at
both Janssen and Merck. He is currently the industry
representative to the FDA’s Endocrine and Metabolic Drug Advisory
Committee.
“We are thrilled to welcome Doug and Gary to Sana,” said Steve
Harr, Sana’s President and CEO. “We are making rapid progress in
transitioning from a research-based company to one focused on
delivering innovative gene and cell-based medicines to patients
across multiple disease areas. These accomplished and experienced
leaders are recognized innovators in their respective areas of
expertise, and together we believe they will strengthen our
strategies, execution, and teams. Doug's long track record of
transforming novel science into important medicines for patients
will be useful across our portfolio, while Gary’s initial focus
will be on our oncology pipeline with the recent IND allowance for
SC291 and upcoming INDs for SC262 and SG299.”
Dr. Harr added, “I would like to take this occasion to thank Dr.
Sunil Agarwal for his work in building the development organization
and ushering forward Sana’s pipeline, including the company’s first
product candidate to IND clearance. Sunil has been a partner in
defining the company strategy and hiring top talent into the
company, and we wish him much success in his next endeavor.”
Douglas E. Williams, Ph.D.Dr. Williams was most
recently the President and CEO of Codiak BioSciences. From January
2011 to July 2015, he was the Executive Vice President of Research
and Development at Biogen. He joined Biogen from ZymoGenetics,
where he was most recently CEO and member of the board of
directors, during which time, the company was purchased for $985M
by Bristol Myers Squibb. Previous leadership positions include
Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President of Research
and Development at Seattle Genetics, Senior Vice President and
Washington Site Leader at Amgen, and Executive Vice President and
Chief Technology Officer at Immunex. During his biotechnology
career spanning over 30 years, he has played a role in the
development of multiple novel drugs, including Enbrel®, Tecfidera®,
and Spinraza®. He has served on the board of numerous biotechnology
companies and is currently Chairman of the Board of AC Immune and a
Director for Panacea II and Codiak. Dr. Williams obtained a B.S.
from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and a Ph.D. from the
State University of New York at Buffalo.
Gary Meininger, M.D.Dr. Meininger was
previously at Vertex as Senior Vice President, Head of Clinical
Development for Vertex Cell and Genetic Therapies (VCGT),
overseeing all aspects of clinical development for VCGT. Prior to
Vertex, Dr. Meininger spent more than eight years at Janssen where,
as Vice President, Franchise Medical Leader in the
Cardiovascular-Metabolism Therapeutic Area, he oversaw the clinical
and regulatory advancement of various products including Invokana®
(canagliflozin) and Invokamet® (canagliflozin/metformin). Prior to
joining Janssen, Dr. Meininger worked at Merck Research
Laboratories for eight years where he was a core member of the
Januvia® (sitagliptin) and Janumet® (sitagliptin/metformin)
programs. Dr. Meininger is the industry representative to the FDA’s
Endocrine and Metabolic Drug Advisory Committee. For over 16 years,
Dr. Meininger maintained an endocrine clinical practice at Robert
Wood Johnson University Hospital. He received a B.S. in Biological
Sciences from Binghamton University and an M.D. degree from New
York University School of Medicine. Dr. Meininger completed his
residency in Internal Medicine at New York-Presbyterian Hospital
and his fellowship in Endocrinology at the Massachusetts General
Hospital.
About Sana BiotechnologySana Biotechnology,
Inc. is focused on creating and delivering engineered cells as
medicines for patients. We share a vision of repairing and
controlling genes, replacing missing or damaged cells, and making
our therapies broadly available to patients. We are a passionate
group of people working together to create an enduring company that
changes how the world treats disease. Sana has operations in
Seattle, Cambridge, South San Francisco, and Rochester. For more
information about Sana Biotechnology, please visit
https://sana.com/.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking
statements about Sana Biotechnology, Inc. (the “Company,” “we,”
“us,” or “our”) within the meaning of the federal securities laws,
including those related to the Company’s vision, progress, and
business plans and expectations for its development programs,
product candidates and technology platforms, including its
pre-clinical, clinical, and regulatory development plans and timing
expectations, including with respect to the expected timing of IND
filings for the Company’s product candidates; and expectations for
its management personnel, including their expected impact and areas
of focus. All statements other than statements of historical facts
contained in this press release, including, among others,
statements regarding the Company’s strategy, expectations, cash
runway and future financial condition, future operations, and
prospects, are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can
identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “aim,”
“anticipate,” “assume,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,”
“could,” “design,” “due,” “estimate,” “expect,” “goal,” “intend,”
“may,” “objective,” “plan,” “positioned,” “potential,” “predict,”
“seek,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would” and other similar
expressions that are predictions of or indicate future events and
future trends, or the negative of these terms or other comparable
terminology. The Company has based these forward-looking statements
largely on its current expectations, estimates, forecasts and
projections about future events and financial trends that it
believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations,
business strategy and financial needs. In light of the significant
uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not
rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future
events. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties
that could cause the actual results to vary materially, including,
among others, the risks inherent in drug development such as those
associated with the initiation, cost, timing, progress and results
of the Company’s current and future research and development
programs, preclinical and clinical trials, as well as economic,
market, and other disruptions, including due to the ongoing
COVID-19 public health crisis. For a detailed discussion of the
risk factors that could affect the Company’s actual results, please
refer to the risk factors identified in the Company’s SEC reports,
including but not limited to its Annual Report on Form 10-K dated
March 16, 2023. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes
no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements for
any reason.
Investor Relations & Media:Nicole
Keithinvestor.relations@sana.com
media@sana.com
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