Autolus appoints non-executive Chair

RNS Number : 8672V

Syncona Limited

19 April 2021

 

19 April 2021

Autolus appoints non-executive Chair

Syncona Ltd, a leading healthcare company focused on founding, building and funding a portfolio of global leaders in life science, notes that its portfolio company, Autolus Therapeutics Plc (NASDAQ: AUTL) (Autolus), has announced that Martin Murphy, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Syncona Investment Management Limited (SIML), has been appointed as non-executive chairman of its Board of Directors, effective April 15, 2021.

Martin Murphy, CEO of Syncona Investment Management Limited, said: "I am delighted to take up the role of chairman at Autolus at an important time in the company's development as it looks to progress AUTO1 through a pivotal Phase II study. I am excited about the company's potential and the opportunity to continue to support, and work alongside, Christian and Autolus' talented and experienced senior management team."

The announcement can be accessed on Autolus' investor website at  https://www.autolus.com/investor-relations  and full text of the announcement from Autolus is contained below. 

[ENDS]

Forward-looking statements - this announcement contains certain forward-looking statements with respect to the portfolio of investments of Syncona Limited. These statements and forecasts involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend upon circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. In particular, many companies in the Syncona Limited portfolio are conducting scientific research and clinical trials where the outcome is inherently uncertain and there is significant risk of negative results or adverse events arising. In addition, many companies in the Syncona Limited portfolio have yet to commercialise a   product and their ability to do so may be affected by operational, commercial and other risks.

Enquiries

Syncona Ltd

Annabel Clay

Tel: [phone]

FTI Consulting

Ben Atwell / Natalie Garland-Collins / Tim Stamper

Tel: [phone]

About Syncona

Syncona's purpose is to invest to extend and enhance human life. We do this by founding, building and funding a portfolio of global leaders in life science, to deliver transformational treatments to patients in areas of high unmet need.

Our strategy is to found, build and fund companies around exceptional science to create a dynamic portfolio of 15-20 globally leading healthcare businesses for the benefit of all our stakeholders. We focus on developing treatments for patients by working in close partnership with world-class academic founders and management teams. Our strategic balance sheet underpins our strategy enabling us to take a long-term view as we look to improve the lives of patients with no or few treatment options, build sustainable life science companies and deliver strong risk-adjusted returns to shareholders.

Autolus Therapeutics announces appointment of Martin Murphy as Non-executive Chairman

LONDON , April 19, 2021 --  Autolus Therapeutics plc (Nasdaq: AUTL), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation programmed T cell therapies, today announced that Dr Martin Murphy was appointed as non-executive chairman of its Board of Directors, effective April 15, 2021.

Dr Christian Itin has chaired the Autolus Board of Directors since the Company's inception in 2014 and has also served as chief executive officer since 2016. As the Company's lead program (AUTO1) continues to progress in multiple clinical trials and the company starts to prepare for commercialization in the event that AUTO1 receives marketing approval, the Company believes that the complexity of the business warrants separation of the roles of chairman and chief executive officer, enabling Dr Itin to fully focus on leading the business. He will remain a member of the Autolus Board.

Dr Murphy has more than 25 years of experience in the life science sector and joined the Autolus Board as a non-executive director at the time of the Company's inception in 2014. He is currently chief executive officer of Syncona Investment Management Limited, a FTSE-250 listed healthcare investment company and a founding investor in Autolus. He holds, or has previously held, the role of non-executive chairman on the boards of directors of multiple life science companies.

About Autolus Therapeutics plc

Autolus is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation, programmed T cell therapies for the treatment of cancer. Using a broad suite of proprietary and modular T cell programming technologies, the company is engineering precisely targeted, controlled and highly active T cell therapies that are designed to better recognize cancer cells, break down their defense mechanisms and eliminate these cells. Autolus has a pipeline of product candidates in development for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumors. For more information please visit www.autolus.com .

About AUTO1 

AUTO1 is a CD19 CAR T cell investigational therapy designed to overcome the limitations in clinical activity and safety compared to current CD19 CAR T cell therapies. Designed to have a fast target binding off-rate to minimize excessive activation of the programmed T cells, AUTO1 may reduce toxicity and be less prone to T cell exhaustion, which could enhance persistence and improve the ability of the programmed T cells to engage in serial killing of target cancer cells. In collaboration with our academic partner, UCL, AUTO1 is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial in adult ALL and B-NHL. The Company has also progressed AUTO1 into a Phase 1/2 clinical trial, referred to as the FELIX study, a potential pivotal trial.

About AUTO1 FELIX study

The Phase 1/2 clinical trial (FELIX) is currently enrolling adult patients with relapsed / refractory ALL. The trial has a limited Phase 1b component prior to proceeding to a single arm Phase 2 clinical trial. The primary endpoint is overall response rate, and the key secondary endpoints include duration of response, MRD negative CR rate and safety. The trial is planned to enroll approximately 100 patients across 30 of the leading academic and non-academic centers in the United States, United Kingdom and Europe.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts, and in some cases can be identified by terms such as "may," "will," "could," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," and "believes." These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the development of the AUTO1 program, including progress, patient enrollment, expectations as to the reporting of data, conduct and timing and potential future clinical activity and regulatory approval., conduct and timing; . Any forward-looking statements are based on management's current views and assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risks that Autolus' preclinical or clinical programs do not advance or result in approved products on a timely or cost effective basis or at all; the results of early clinical trials are not always being predictive of future results; the cost, timing and results of clinical trials; that many product candidates do not become approved drugs on a timely or cost effective basis or at all; the ability to enroll patients in clinical trials; possible safety and efficacy concerns; and the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on Autolus' business. For a discussion of other risks and uncertainties, and other important factors, any of which could cause Autolus' actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see the section titled "Risk Factors" in Autolus' Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 4, 2021, as amended, as well as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties, and other important factors in Autolus' subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Autolus undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

Contact:

Julia Wilson

[phone]

  [e-mail]

Susan A. Noonan

S.A. Noonan Communications

[phone]

[e-mail]

 

END

 

 

PFUUKUBRAAUSARR