Cellectis Strengthens Management Team to Support Stem Cell Activities

PARIS, April 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Cellectis (Alternext: ALCLS), the genome engineering specialist, has announced today the recruitment of three senior managers to support the development of Ectycell, its subsidiary dedicated to industrial applications of stem cells.

• Edward Balbirnie, PhD, joins Ectycell as Chief Operations Officer. He has 23 years of international experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, including senior operational positions in bioproduction at LFB Biotechnologies in France and quality assurance at Elan in Ireland. His experience in process development, clinical manufacture and quality assurance will be key in driving Ectycell's lead programs forward and in obtaining regulatory approvals for Ectycell's iPS based products.

• Stephan Reynier, MSc, joins Ectycell as Head of Programs, in charge of the management and coordination of internal and external collaborative programs. He has extensive experience, from his previous positions at Voisin Consulting Life Sciences and Gilead Sciences, in the design and implementation of regulatory strategies for the clinical development of drugs, biologics and cell and tissue based medicinal products.

• Wu Ma, PhD, joins Ectycell as Head of the induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cell Platform. He will be responsible for large-scale generation, propagation and differentiation of iPS cells derived from donor biopsies for various applications. He brings a great depth of knowledge and know-how to Ectycell, having been previously responsible for iPS cell production at iPierian Inc. and ATCC in the USA and gathering over 25 years of experience in this field.

"Cellectis is unlocking the power of genome engineering across many industries. Through Ectycell, we are developing stem cell based products that could significantly reduce the hurdles faced today in drug discovery and regenerative medicine," commented David Sourdive, President of Ectycell and EVP Corporate Development of Cellectis. "The appointment of these top-level scientists strengthens our existing management team and adds the relevant skill sets and expertise to drive this business forward."

Full resumes and photos available on request.

About Cellectis

Cellectis improves life by applying its genome engineering expertise to a broad range of applications, including human therapeutics, biological research and agriculture. Cellectis is listed on the NYSE-Euronext Alternext market (code: ALCLS) in Paris.

More information at www.cellectis.com

About Ectycell

A subsidiary of Cellectis founded in August 2009, Ectycell is dedicated to the development, production and marketing of tools for generating induced pluripotent stem cells from adult cells for industrial and therapeutic applications. Ectycell is the main partner in major programs aiming at developing the first iPS cell bank for industrial usage (CellMill program) by 2015 and producing red blood cells from iPS on a large scale (StemRed program).

Follow Cellectis on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cellectis.  

Disclaimer

This press release and the information contained herein do not constitute an offer to sell or subscribe, or a solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe, for shares in Cellectis in any country. This press release contains forward-looking statements that relate to the Company's objectives based on the current expectations and assumptions of the Company's management only and involve unforeseeable risk and uncertainties that could cause the Company to fail to achieve the objectives expressed by the forward-looking statements above.

SOURCE Cellectis

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