CARsgen Appoints Dr. Raffaele Baffa as Chief Medical Officer

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Apr 07, 2022, 11:42 ET

SHANGHAI and BOSTON, April 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CARsgen Therapeutics Holdings Limited (Stock Code: 2171.HK), a company focused on innovative CAR T cell therapies for the treatment of hematologic malignancies and solid tumors, announces that Dr. Raffaele Baffa ("Dr. Baffa") has been appointed as the Chief Medical Officer ("CMO") of the Company, responsible for overseeing the global clinical development strategies and operations for the Company's innovative pipeline product candidates. Dr. Baffa will report to Dr. Zonghai Li, Founder, Chairman of the Board, CEO, CSO of CARsgen Therapeutics Holdings Limited.

Dr. Raffaele Baffa, Chief Medical Officer, CARsgen Therapeutics Holdings Limited

Dr. Baffa has rich experiences in pharmaceutical industry and research institutes, taking various leadership positions in multi-national corporations and biotech companies. Prior to joining CARsgen, Dr. Baffa served as Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President of Research & Development at Ziopharm Oncology (NASDAQ: ZIOP), which was rebranded to Alaunos in January 2022. (NASDAQ: TCRT). Prior to Ziopharm Oncology, Dr. Baffa was Head of Research & Development and Chief Medical Officer in Medisix Therapeutics, a company focused on developing novel immune cell therapies. Dr. Baffa was the Vice President, Therapeutic Area Head of Oncology, Global Clinical Development of Shire Pharmaceuticals, and following the acquisition of the oncology division by Servier Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Baffa served as the Chief Medical Officier of Servier Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Baffa has also held leadership positions at well-known pharmaceutical companies, such as Pfizer and Sanofi.

Dr. Baffa earned an M.D. from University of Padova, School of Medicine and a Ph.D. in biology and molecular pathology from University of Parma in Italy.

Dr. Zonghai Li, Founder, Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Scientific Officer of CARsgen Therapeutics Holdings Limited, said, "We warmly welcome Dr. Baffa to join CARsgen. Dr. Baffa is a medical professional and industry veteran with extensive experiences in clinical development and translational sciences in the field of oncology and cellular immunotherapy. Dr. Baffa brings a wealth of clinical, medical, and leadership experiences from multinational corporations and biotechnology companies. Dr. Baffa joins us at an exciting time as the clinical trials for both CT053 and CT041 are progressing in North America and being explored in other territories. Dr. Baffa's joining will further accelerate the global clinical development of our innovative product candidates."

Dr. Raffaele Baffa, Chief Medical Officer of CARsgen Therapeutics Holdings Limited, said, "I am very excited to join CARsgen. As one of the leading companies in cell therapies globally, CARsgen has developed a rich and differentiated product pipeline and a suite of exciting technology platforms such as THANK-uCAR^® for allogeneic CAR T and LADAR^® for precise targeting. CARsgen has also shown big ambitions with continuous investment for the global market, such as the establishment of the manufacturing facility in the United States. I look forward to working closely with colleagues in CARsgen and external partners to accelerate CARsgen's global clinical development and bring more innovative products to cancer patients."

About CARsgen Therapeutics Holdings Limited

CARsgen is a biopharmaceutical company with operations in China and the U.S. and is focused on innovative CAR T-cell therapies for the treatment of hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. The Company has built an integrated cell therapy platform with in-house capabilities that span target discovery, antibody development, clinical trials, and commercial-scale manufacturing. CARsgen has internally developed novel technologies and a product pipeline with global rights to address major challenges of CAR T-cell therapies, such as improving the safety profile, enhancing the efficacy in treating solid tumors, and reducing treatment costs. The Company's vision is to become a global biopharmaceutical leader that brings innovative and differentiated cell therapies to cancer patients worldwide and makes cancer curable.

SOURCE CARsgen Therapeutics