Poseida Therapeutics, a Nasdaq-listed cell and gene therapy firm, has appointed Kristin Yarema, Ph.D., as President of its Cell Therapy division. Yarema, who has extensive biopharmaceutical experience focusing on oncology and allogeneic T cell immunotherapies, joins Poseida from Atara Biotherapeutics, where she was Chief Commercial Officer. Yarema led the product strategy and commercialization of Atara’s allogeneic pipeline therapies including CAR-Ts for liquid and solid tumors, as well as allogeneic T cell therapy for multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases. Prior to Atara, Yarema was a commercial VP for many other products within Amgen’s portfolio, and earlier in her career she held a variety of roles at Novartis and McKinsey & Company, where she led commercialization efforts and initiated programs in rare and orphan diseases.
Yarema will lead the execution of drug development programs within Poseida’s Cell Therapy division, including the firm’s partnership with Roche. Poseida is pioneering a differentiated approach to cell therapy using its proprietary genetic engineering technologies, which include its non-viral piggyBac® DNA Delivery System, Cas-CLOVER™ Site-Specific Gene Editing System and nanoparticle and hybrid gene delivery technologies. The company’s pipeline includes allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy products candidates for both solid and liquid tumors, as well as in vivo gene therapies for patient populations with high unmet medical need. Poseida has global strategic partnerships with Roche and Takeda to unlock the promise of cell and gene therapies for patients.
Also Read:
Yarema said she is thrilled to join Poseida and believes the company’s focus on allogeneic cell therapy products is bold, and has the potential to transform patient outcomes and the future of cancer care.
Mark Gergen, Chief Executive Officer of Poseida, said Yarema is a proven leader with a strategic, business and scientific background, adding she is ideally suited to lead the company through its next phase of growth. Gergen said Yarema’s experience in the industry overseeing all aspects for commercialization of product candidates, including the first approval of an allogeneic T cell therapy, will be invaluable as the company builds out its commercial capabilities.
Also Read:
The appointment follows Poseida’s announcement in April that the US Food and Drug Administration had cleared its Investigational New Drug application for P-BCMA-ALLO1, an allogeneic CAR-T therapy for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. The drug was developed in partnership with Roche, which gained an exclusive licence to develop and commercialize the therapy outside of the US. Poseida is also advancing the development of its wholly owned P-MUC1C-ALLO1 program, an allogeneic CAR-T therapy for solid tumor indications.
Poseida has raised more than $685m since it was founded in 2015, according to Crunchbase, including $204m from its IPO in February. Its shares began trading on the Nasdaq in late February.
Also Read:
In Other News Around the World: