Sana Biotechnology Builds Key Regulatory Capabilities as Ke Liu, M.D., Ph.D., Joins Senior Leadership Team

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Jan 06, 2021, 09:00 ET

SEATTLE, Jan. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sana Biotechnology, Inc. (Sana), focused on creating and delivering engineered cells as medicines, announced today that Ke Liu, M.D., Ph.D., has joined the senior leadership team as Sana's Head of Regulatory Affairs & Strategy.

Dr. Liu joins Sana after more than 17 years at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dr. Liu most recently served as Associate Director for Cell and Gene Therapy at the FDA's Oncology Center of Excellence, and Chief of Oncology Branch, in the Office of Tissues and Advanced Therapies at the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER). Dr. Liu's oversight included clinical evaluations and approvals of many innovative cancer therapeutics with curative potential, including chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, T cell receptor (TCR) modified T cells, genome-edited products, neoantigen-based therapies, adoptive T cell therapies, oncolytic viral therapy, dendritic cell therapy, and combinations of these immune-oncologic therapeutics with checkpoint inhibitors and other agents.

"We are thrilled that Ke has chosen to embark on the next phase of his career with Sana," said Sunil Agarwal, Sana's Head of Development and Chief Medical Officer. "Sana's goal is to build a research platform capable of bringing multiple engineered cell-based therapies into human clinical testing, beginning as early as next year. Ke's deep regulatory understanding and experience in the development of cell and gene therapies broadly, and cancer medications more specifically, will be invaluable as we navigate the challenges ahead in turning our science into therapies that benefit patients."

"I am excited to join Sana at this critical juncture for the company, as it is planning for its first clinical studies," Dr. Liu said. "My passion for engineering cells as medicines extends back to my time in basic, translational, and clinical research at the National Cancer Institute, and I am optimistic that these new modalities will change outcomes in a positive way for patients impacted by a number of different diseases. I look forward to contributing my experience and expertise to Sana's efforts."

Dr. Liu received his M.D. from Henan Medical University in China and his Ph.D. in molecular biology from Cornell University. He completed his internal medicine internship and residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, his medical oncology fellowship at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and additional cancer immunotherapy training at the NCI's Surgery Branch. Dr. Liu is an ABIM-certified medical oncologist and internist and served as an attending medical oncologist at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

About Sana
Sana Biotechnology, Inc. is focused on creating and delivering engineered cells as medicines for patients. We share a vision of repairing and controlling genes, replacing missing or damaged cells, and making our therapies broadly available to patients. We are more than 250 people working together to create an enduring company that changes how the world treats disease. Sana has operations in Seattle, Cambridge, and South San Francisco.

Contact
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SOURCE Sana Biotechnology, Inc.