Juno Therapeutics Appoints Biotech Investment Banking Leader Steve Harr As CFO And Head Of Corporate Development

Morgan Stanley's Head of Global Biotech Investment Banking Joins Leading Cancer Immunotherapy Startup

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Mar 31, 2014, 09:00 ET

SEATTLE, March 31, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Juno Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on bringing forward novel immunotherapies for cancer, announced today that Steve Harr, M.D., will join the company as its Chief Financial Officer and Head of Corporate Development.

Harr currently serves as Managing Director and Head of Biotechnology Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley. Prior to his investment banking role at Morgan Stanley, Harr was the firm's biotech research analyst and co-head of global healthcare research, where he was consistently ranked as one of the top biotech analysts in the industry. He joins Juno after 12 years with Morgan Stanley, having managed more than $20 billion in financing deals and more than $40 billion in M&A transactions as well as spending many years interacting with institutional investors as a research analyst.

"We are delighted to have Steve join the team," said Hans Bishop, CEO of Juno Therapeutics. "Steve joins Juno after its successful public launch and unprecedented Series A. We are thrilled to have his unmatched insights into the biotechnology industry and corporate finance and as we continue to grow and develop."

In his new role, Harr will lead the development of Juno's financing strategy and approach to broader strategic business relationships.

"Juno is a unique combination of strong science, world-class researchers and a stellar leadership team," said Harr. "Like many people, I have family and friends who have been impacted by cancer. The opportunity to work at a company that has the potential to alter the course of treating this disease is highly attractive. I am excited to join the company and help make Juno's therapies into a reality for patients."

Prior to Morgan Stanley, Harr worked as a research analyst at Robertson Stephens. He obtained a BA in Economics from College of the Holy Cross and an M.D. from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He was an Internal Medicine resident at the University of California, San Francisco and performed research at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was an author on multiple published papers. Harr and his family will relocate to Seattle from New York.

About Juno
Juno is a clinical stage company that brings together three of the world's leading cancer centers – Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Seattle Children's Research Institute – in unique partnership to advance a broad pipeline of potential curative immunotherapy treatments. With one of the largest ever Series A investments for a biotech startup, Juno will build on breakthroughs in the design of novel immunotherapies to develop two distinct and complementary platforms – chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) and T-cell receptors (TCRs). The CAR technology is designed to target cell surface antigens that are expressed on cancer cells. In addition, the high-affinity TCR technology can also detect alterations in intracellular proteins present in tumor cells. These treatments have potential to reduce longer-term toxicities associated with current chemotherapeutics. Juno's goal is to drive multiple product candidates in select hematologic and solid tumor cancers to FDA licensure. Each candidate has the potential to treat a variety of high-risk cancers.

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SOURCE Juno Therapeutics