PureTech Founded Entity Vor Biopharma Appoints Matthew R Patterson to its Board of Directors
Mr Patterson has held senior leadership positions in both private and publicly-traded biotechnology companies. He is the co-founder of Audentes Therapeutics and was its Chief Executive Officer for eight years until its acquisition by Astellas Pharma in 2020; he also chaired the company’s Board of Directors and continues to serve as a strategic advisor to the company. Prior to Audentes, Mr Patterson was an entrepreneur-in-residence with OrbiMed. Earlier in his career, he worked for Genzyme Corporation, BioMarin Pharmaceutical and Amicus Therapeutics.
The full text of the announcement from Vor is as follows:
Vor Biopharma Appoints Matthew R Patterson to its Board of Directors
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – October 20, 2020 – Vor Biopharma, an oncology company pioneering engineered haematopoietic stem cells (eHSCs) for the treatment of cancer, today announced the appointment of Matthew R Patterson, a biotechnology executive with nearly 30 years of experience in research, development, and commercialisation of innovative treatments, to its Board of Directors.
“Matt is a highly respected leader in biotech, and for good reason,” said Robert Ang, MBBS, MBA, Vor’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “His expertise, guidance, and insights will be critical as we continue to advance our science towards the goal of developing potentially transformative therapies for patients with blood cancers.”
Mr Patterson has held senior leadership positions in both private and publicly-traded biotechnology companies. He is the co-founder of Audentes Therapeutics and was its Chief Executive Officer for eight years until its acquisition by Astellas Pharma in 2020; he also chaired the company’s Board of Directors and continues to serve as a strategic advisor to the company. Additionally, he is a member of the Board of Directors of Homology Medicines, Inc., and the Board of Directors of 5:01 Acquisition Corp. Mr Patterson also currently serves as the Chairman of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM), the international advocacy organisation representing the gene and cell therapy and broader regenerative medicine sector.
Prior to Audentes, Mr Patterson was an entrepreneur-in-residence with OrbiMed. Earlier in his career, he worked for Genzyme Corporation, BioMarin Pharmaceutical, and Amicus Therapeutics. Mr Patterson received his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Bowdoin College.
“Vor’s innovative approach to cell therapy and passionate team have the potential to transform the lives of cancer patients,” Mr Patterson said. “I am excited to provide guidance and mentorship to Robert and the team as they continue to build a world class cell therapy company.”
About Vor Biopharma
Vor Biopharma aims to transform the lives of cancer patients by pioneering engineered haematopoietic stem cell (eHSC) therapies. By removing biologically redundant proteins from eHSCs, these cells become inherently invulnerable to complementary targeted therapies while tumour cells are left susceptible, thereby unleashing the potential of targeted therapies to benefit cancer patients in need.
Vor’s platform could be used to potentially change the treatment paradigm of both haematopoietic stem cell transplants and targeted therapies, such as antibody drug conjugates, bispecific antibodies, and CAR-T cell treatments.
Vor is based in Cambridge, Mass. and has a broad intellectual property base, including in-licenses from Columbia University, where foundational work was conducted by inventor and Vor Scientific Board Chair Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, DPhil.
About VOR33
Vor’s lead product candidate, VOR33, consists of engineered haematopoietic stem cells (eHSCs) that lack the protein CD33. Once these cells are transplanted into a cancer patient, we believe that CD33 will become a far more cancer-specific target, potentially avoiding toxicity to the normal blood and bone marrow associated with CD33-targeted therapies. Vor aims to improve the therapeutic window and effectiveness of CD33-targeted therapies, thereby potentially broadening the clinical benefit to patients suffering from acute myeloid leukaemia.
About PureTech Health
PureTech is a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company dedicated to discovering, developing and commercialising highly differentiated medicines for devastating diseases, including intractable cancers, lymphatic and gastrointestinal diseases, central nervous system disorders and inflammatory and immunological diseases, among others. The Company has created a broad and deep pipeline through the expertise of its experienced research and development team and its extensive network of scientists, clinicians and industry leaders. This pipeline, which is being advanced both internally and through PureTech’s Founded Entities, is comprised of 24 products and product candidates, including two that have received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance and European marketing authorisation. All of the underlying programmes and platforms that resulted in this pipeline of product candidates were initially identified or discovered and then advanced by the PureTech team through key validation points based on the Company’s unique insights into the biology of the brain, immune and gut, or BIG, systems and the interface between those systems, referred to as the BIG Axis.
For more information, visit www.puretechhealth.com or connect with us on Twitter @puretechh.
Forward Looking Statement
This press release contains statements that are or may be forward-looking statements, including statements that relate to the company's future prospects, developments, and strategies. The forward looking statements are based on current expectations and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance and achievements to differ materially from current expectations, including, but not limited to, our expectations regarding the addition of Mr Patterson to Vor’s Board of Directors and the potential to become a world class cell therapy company and those risks and uncertainties described in the risk factors included in the regulatory filings for PureTech Health plc. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions regarding the present and future business strategies of the company and the environment in which it will operate in the future. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as at the date of this press release. Except as required by law and regulatory requirements, neither the company nor any other party intends to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.