SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ArsenalBio a privately held programmable cell therapy company, today announced the expansion of its leadership team with the appointments of John Schroer, CFA as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Tim Sirichoke as Chief Technical Operations Officer (CTOO). Mr. Schroer previously served as CFO at Translate Bio and Managing Director and Healthcare Sector Head at Allianz Global Investors. Mr. Sirichoke will be responsible for all aspects of manufacturing for the company, drawing on his previous roles and responsibilities as Vice President, Manufacturing at Genentech, a Member of the Roche Group, and Kite Pharma, a Gilead company.

“I’m very proud of the team we’re building at ArsenalBio – industry leaders who not only have tremendous expertise, but also an acute appreciation for our culture, creativity, collaborative spirit and the grit needed to forge new territory,” said Ken Drazan, MD, ArsenalBio’s co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO). “John and Tim embody these qualities, and I’m confident of the substantial contributions they will make as we continue to build our company, our partnerships, and advance our programmable cell therapies into the clinic.”

Dr. Drazan was recently appointed Chairman of ArsenalBio’s Board of Directors in addition to serving as CEO. The company has continued to strengthen its Board of Directors with the recent appointments of Barbara Kosacz and Matthew Fust. Ms. Kosacz is Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel at Kronos Bio, Inc. and previously Global Life Sciences Chair at Cooley LLP. Mr. Fust is a board member and advisor to public and private life sciences companies, and former Executive Vice President and CFO at Onyx Pharmaceuticals.

About Mr. Schroer and Mr. Sirichoke

During his tenure at Translate Bio, Mr. Schroer helped guide the company through its initial public offering and additional financial transactions which totaled nearly $1 Billion. Previously, Mr. Schroer served as Healthcare Sector Team Head at Allianz Global Investors, where he led its healthcare-focused investment strategy, research, and portfolio management. Before that, he held various roles at Schroer Capital, L.P., HealthCor Management, L.P., ITROS Capital Management, LLC, INVESCO Funds Group, and Trust Company of the West. Mr. Schroer earned his B.S. and M.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is a CFA charterholder.

“First-generation cell therapies have made notable strides treating cancer, but for a limited number of patients with hematologic cancers. ArsenalBio is seeking to extend cell therapy’s impact to solid tumor cancers,” said Mr. Schroer. “Beyond these cutting-edge therapeutic pursuits, I’m equally excited to work with Ken and this high-caliber, proven team. I’m eager to apply my skill and capital markets expertise to help guide our continued strategic scale-up of team, resources and infrastructure.”

Mr. Sirichoke joined ArsenalBio most recently from Genentech, where he served as Vice President of Individualized Neo-Antigen Specific Therapies (INeST) Manufacturing. He also previously served as Vice President, Manufacturing at Kite Pharma, and as head of Quality at Novartis’ first cell and gene therapy facility supporting the commercial production of KYMRIAH^® (tisagenlecleucel). Mr. Sirichoke has a B.S. in Biology from the University of California at Berkeley.

Mr. Sirichoke commented, “Overcoming cancer’s inherent complexity to deliver second-generation cell therapies will require a platform approach that enables flexibility of design and redesign, with built-in characteristics to overcome persistent hurdles. These include lower dosing with the potential for greater potency and safety, and more durable results, and non-viral editing and manufacturing to reduce costs and expand market access. I’m incredibly excited that ArsenalBio’s suite of technologies uniquely combines these characteristics, giving us the potential to be a next-generation cell therapy leader.”

About ArsenalBio

ArsenalBio is a privately held, programmable cell therapy company focused on the realization of solid tumor cell therapy by helping more patients fight cancer and saving lives. Its discovery engine comprises non-viral manufacturing based on its CellFoundry™ technology, integrated circuits incorporating its PrimeR™ logic gates and CAR enhancements from its CARchitecture™ library, enabling multiple pharmaceutical functions. With our programmable and computationally driven approach, we aim for enhanced and broader efficacy, increased patient safety, reduced provider costs and expanded market access. Visit us at www.arsenalbio.com to learn more.

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