Notch Therapeutics Strengthens Leadership Team with Appointment of Kamran Alam as CFO and Gregory Block as SVP, Corporate Development

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Oct 19, 2020, 08:00 ET

TORONTO, Oct. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Notch Therapeutics Inc., a cell therapy company with a proprietary platform for generating renewable stem cell-derived T cell therapies for cancer and other immune disorders, announced today the appointment of Kamran Alam as Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer and Gregory Block as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, effective immediately.

"Adding these experienced leaders to our team underpins our strategy of advancing our pipeline and supporting our partnering initiatives," said David Main, President and Chief Executive Officer of Notch. "Their combined expertise in financial and corporate strategy will augment our deep technical team as we advance our proprietary platform that enables the development of highly consistent T cell therapies manufactured at industrial scale and lower cost. We look forward to their contributions as members of our executive team."

Kamran Alam, Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer
Kamran Alam brings to Notch more than 20 years of global corporate finance and business development leadership experience. He joins Notch from Neoleukin Therapeutics, where he served as Interim Chief Financial Officer following Neoleukin's merger in 2018 with Aquinox Pharmaceuticals. Previously, in his role as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President, Finance at Aquinox, Mr. Alam provided finance leadership for the company's IPO on the NASDAQ stock exchange in 2014. Prior to his tenure with Aquinox, Mr. Alam held senior roles in business development for a number of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Mr. Alam is a Chartered Professional Accountant. He holds a B.Sc. in Cell Biology and Genetics from the University of British Columbia and an M.B.A. in International Business and Strategy from the University of Victoria.

Gregory Block, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Corporate Development
Gregory Block is a seasoned biotechnology executive with more than 10 years of experience in the development and commercialization of novel therapeutic modalities. Prior to his position with Notch, he served as Director of Business Development for Astellas Pharmaceuticals, where he led business development and strategic initiatives for regenerative medicine and cell therapy immune oncology. Dr. Block joined Astellas via the company's 2018 acquisition of Universal Cells Inc., where he was instrumental in company-building and business development. Dr. Block holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Tulane University and completed a fellowship at the University of Washington.

About Notch Therapeutics (www.notchtx.com)
Notch Therapeutics is a cell therapy company that has unlocked the ability to produce T cells and other cells from any source of stem cells. At the core of the Notch technology is the Engineered Thymic Niche (ETN) platform, which enables precision control of cell fate during the differentiation and expansion of stem cells. The ETN is the first technology that can reliably generate T-cells from iPSC-derived progenitor cells using fully defined, non-xenogenic reagents at industrial scale. By leveraging the ETN platform, Notch is positioned to design and deliver the next generation of T cell therapeutics that are specifically engineered to address the underlying biology of complex disease systems. The technology was invented in the laboratories of Juan-Carlos Zúñiga-Pflücker, Ph.D. at Sunnybrook Research Institute and Peter Zandstra, Ph.D., FRSC at the University of Toronto. Notch was founded by these two institutions, in conjunction with MaRS Innovation (now Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners) and the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM) in Toronto.

Contact:
Mary Moynihan
M2Friend Biocommunications
802-951-9600
[email protected]

SOURCE Notch Therapeutics