SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Juno Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: JUNO), a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative cellular immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer, today announced the appointment of Ann L. Lee, Ph.D., as Executive Vice President of Technical Operations. Dr. Patrick Y. Yang will assume the role of Executive Vice President, Senior Advisor to the CEO. Both will report to Hans Bishop, President and CEO, and work to further advance Juno as a global leader in T cell engineering and manufacturing.
In her new role, Dr. Lee will be responsible for process development, manufacturing, supply chain, quality assurance, and end-to-end process and platform optimization for all aspects of Juno’s engineered T cell product candidates.
Prior to joining Juno, Dr. Lee held senior leadership positions at RocheGenentech, where she served as Senior Vice President and Global Head of Pharma Technical Development, and led a team of more than 2,500 professionals responsible for end-to-end chemistry, manufacturing and control (CMC), and technical support for all pipeline and commercial products. She also spent over 16 years at Merck & Co., Inc., where she led many of the company's vaccine development efforts and served as project leader for several vaccine products, including quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine. She also served as Vice President of Chemical Technology and Engineering in Merck's Manufacturing Division, where she directed the development, design and start-up of chemical manufacturing facilities, and led supply chain optimization and process improvements for new and licensed products.
"Ann's notable credentials and successful track record in delivering technological innovation and advancing drug pipelines to commercialization will serve Juno well as it moves into the next stage of its growth," said Hans Bishop, Juno’s President and CEO. "Her experience aligns perfectly with our mission to develop and bring best-in-class therapies to market."
Over the course of her career, Dr. Lee has been involved in the successful development and commercialization of 22 medicines and vaccines and has received several awards and distinctions in science and engineering including recognition as an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering, and as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In addition, she was recognized as one of the 150 most influential women in Bay Area Business.
“I am thrilled to be joining the Juno team in its quest to develop new breakthrough treatments for patients with cancer,” said Dr. Lee. “The values of the company really resonate with my passion for teamwork to develop new products, and I see the opportunities in this role as a great fit for my own experiences, expertise, and love for learning as we pursue innovative technologies and next-generation manufacturing, and focus on successful commercialization and reliable supply of the late stage products.”
Dr. Yang had previously been Juno’s interim leader for Technical Operations. Before serving in this role, Dr. Yang was Roche’s Executive Vice President and Global Head of Technical Operations from 2010 to 2013. He was previously Executive Vice President, Product Operations of Genentech. Prior to joining Genentech in 2003, Dr. Yang spent 11 years at Merck & Company in various leadership positions including vice presidential roles in manufacturing and supply chain management. Dr. Yang also spent 12 years at General Electric, serving in various research, engineering, technology, and manufacturing leadership roles.
About Juno
Juno Therapeutics is building a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative cellular immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer. Founded on the vision that the use of human cells as therapeutic entities will drive one of the next important phases in medicine, Juno is developing cell-based cancer immunotherapies based on chimeric antigen receptor and high-affinity T cell receptor technologies to genetically engineer T cells to recognize and kill cancer. Juno is developing multiple cell-based product candidates to treat a variety of B-cell malignancies as well as multiple solid tumors and multiple myeloma. Several product candidates have shown compelling clinical responses in clinical trials in refractory leukemia and lymphoma conducted to date. Juno's long-term aim is to leverage its cell-based platform to develop new product candidates that address a broader range of cancers and human diseases. Juno brings together innovative technologies from some of the world's leading research institutions, including the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Seattle Children's Research Institute (SCRI), the University of California, San Francisco, and The National Cancer Institute. Juno Therapeutics has an exclusive license to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital patented technology for CD19-directed product candidates that use 4-1BB, which was developed by Dario Campana, Chihaya Imai, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Juno’s product candidate JCAR017 was developed in collaboration with SCRI and others.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including statements regarding Juno’s mission, progress, and business plans; the ability of Juno’s executive team to advance Juno as a global leader in T cell engineering and manufacturing; and the potential of Juno’s therapies to eradicate and cure certain types of cancers and other serious diseases. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements, and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks associated with: the success, cost, and timing of Juno's product development activities and clinical trials; Juno's ability to obtain regulatory approval for and to commercialize its product candidates; Juno's ability to establish a commercially-viable manufacturing process and manufacturing infrastructure; regulatory requirements and regulatory developments; success of Juno's competitors with respect to competing treatments and technologies; Juno's dependence on third-party collaborators and other contractors in Juno's research and development activities, including for the conduct of clinical trials and the manufacture of Juno's product candidates; Juno’s ability to attract and retain key scientific, quality control/assurance, manufacturing or management personnel; Juno's dependence on Celgene for the development and commercialization outside of North America and China of Juno’s CD19 product candidates and any other product candidates for which Celgene exercises an option; Juno’s dependence on JW Therapeutics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd and its affiliates for the development and commercialization of product candidates in China; Juno's ability to obtain, maintain, or protect intellectual property rights related to its product candidates; amongst others. For a further description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to Juno's business in general, see Juno's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 1, 2017 and Juno’s other periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. Juno disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
