CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lineage Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (NYSE American and TASE: LCTX), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel cell transplants for serious medical conditions, today announced the appointment of Anula Jayasuriya, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., to the Company’s Board of Directors, effective as of May 4, 2021. Dr. Jayasuriya is a successful healthcare private equity executive and venture capitalist with extensive clinical, industry, entrepreneurial, and investment experience. Dr. Jayasuriya is the Founder & Managing Director of EXXclaim Capital, an early-stage venture fund focused on catalyzing innovation, entrepreneurship and investment in Women’s Health, and a Co-founder of Evolvence India Life Science Fund (EILSF), the first fund in India to focus exclusively on healthcare and invest in Indian pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and contract services companies. Dr. Jayasuriya received a B.A. from Harvard University summa cum laude, a M. Phil. in pharmacology from the University of Cambridge, an M.D. and Ph.D. (in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics) from Harvard Medical School and an M.B.A. with distinction from Harvard Business School.
“Dr. Jayasuriya is a successful healthcare investment executive with deep insights and experience in the clinical development of a wide range of medical products. We are delighted she will be joining our Board of Directors,” stated Al Kingsley, Lineage’s Chairman of the Board. “Dr. Jayasuriya’s appointment reflects an overall commitment to ensuring that our Board reflects a broad range of expertise and perspectives as Lineage works to position itself as a leader in the field of cell therapy and regenerative medicine.”
“I am excited to join Lineage’s Board at a transformational time in the Company’s history,” stated Dr. Jayasuriya. “Lineage is pioneering a new branch of medicine by advancing its off-the-shelf cell transplant therapies toward later stage clinical trials. These products have the potential to address multi-billion-dollar market opportunities and greatly improve the lives of patients. I look forward to helping the Company as it positions itself for success in 2021 and beyond.”
Anula Jayasuriya, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A.
Dr. Jayasuriya is the Founder & Managing Director of EXXclaim Capital, an early-stage venture fund focused on catalyzing innovation, entrepreneurship and investment in Women’s Health, and a Co-founder of Evolvence India Life Science Fund (EILSF), the very first fund in India to focus exclusively on health care and invest in Indian pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and contract services companies. Dr. Jayasuriya has applied deep business, scientific, and medical knowledge in her career as a pharmaceutical company executive, private equity executive, and venture capitalist, providing her with a broad experience base spanning clinical, executive, entrepreneurial, and financial roles. She was among the first investors to recognize the untapped opportunity in the unmet needs in women’s health.
Integrating her passion with her investing expertise, in 2013 Dr. Jayasuriya founded EXXclaim Capital, which has invested in a portfolio of diverse Women’s Health companies ranging from digital health, medical devices, and diagnostics to consumer products. EXXclaim’s first investment, nVision Medical, was acquired in 2018 by Boston Scientific Inc. In 2006, she co-founded EILSF, focusing exclusively on investment in Indian pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and contract services companies. Dr. Jayasuriya was previously a partner with Skyline Ventures in Palo Alto, and prior to that with the German/US venture capital firm TVM, in San Francisco. Her prior positions include VP Business Development at Genomics Collaborative Inc., Vice President, Global Drug Development at Hoffman-La Roche for opportunistic infections in AIDS and Transplantation, and Director, Outcomes Research at Syntex Laboratories.
Dr. Jayasuriya received a BA from Harvard summa cum laude, and an MD and PhD (in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics) from Harvard Medical School. She interned in Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital and received an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School. Dr. Jayasuriya also holds a M. Phil. in pharmacology from the University of Cambridge, in England.
About Lineage Cell Therapeutics, Inc.
Lineage Cell Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel cell therapies for unmet medical needs. Lineage’s programs are based on its robust proprietary cell-based therapy platform and associated in-house development and manufacturing capabilities. With this platform Lineage develops and manufactures specialized, terminally differentiated human cells from its pluripotent and progenitor cell starting materials. These differentiated cells are developed to either replace or support cells that are dysfunctional or absent due to degenerative disease or traumatic injury or administered as a means of helping the body mount an effective immune response to cancer. Lineage’s clinical programs are in markets with billion dollar opportunities and include three allogeneic (“off-the-shelf”) product candidates: (i) OpRegen®, a retinal pigment epithelium transplant therapy in Phase 1/2a development for the treatment of dry age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in the developed world; (ii) OPC1, an oligodendrocyte progenitor cell therapy in Phase 1/2a development for the treatment of acute spinal cord injuries; and (iii) VAC, an allogeneic dendritic cell therapy platform for immuno-oncology and infectious disease, currently in clinical development for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. For more information, please visit www.lineagecell.com or follow the Company on Twitter @LineageCell.
Forward-Looking Statements
Lineage cautions you that all statements, other than statements of historical facts, contained in this press release, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements, in some cases, can be identified by terms such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “design,” “intend,” “expect,” “could,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “seek,” “should,” “would,” “contemplate,” project,” “target,” “tend to,” or the negative version of these words and similar expressions. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to Lineage advancing its off-the-shelf cell transplant therapies toward later stage clinical trials and the potential of those products to address multi-billion-dollar market opportunities and greatly improve the lives of patients and Lineage’s positioning for future success. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Lineage’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this press release, including risks and uncertainties inherent in Lineage’s business and other risks described in Lineage’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Lineage’s forward-looking statements are based upon its current expectations and involve assumptions that may never materialize or may prove to be incorrect. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. Further information regarding these and other risks is included under the heading “Risk Factors” in Lineage’s periodic reports with the SEC, including Lineage’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC and its other reports, which are available from the SEC’s website. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they were made. Lineage undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made, except as required by law.
