Rexgenero Appoints Sadia L’Baouch as Chief Manufacturing Officer

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Rexgenero, a regenerative medicine company developing advanced cell therapies to treat chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI), today announces the appointment of Sadia L’Baouch as Chief Manufacturing Officer, effective 4 January 2021.

Sadia has more than 20 years’ experience in manufacturing operations, supply chain management and external supply. She has a successful track record in devising strategy and infrastructures for new products and managing multiple sites.

Sadia will join Rexgenero from Sangamo Therapeutics where, as Senior Director of Supply Chain and Manufacturing, she managed CMOs for delivery of early phase programmes using CAR-Tregs (chimeric antigen receptor regulator T cells). Prior to Sangamo Therapeutics, Sadia spent 17 years at GlaxoSmithKline in roles such as Operations and Supply Director, Director of Manufacturing and Supply, and Supply Chain Senior Director where she led on supply chain for the launch of the first ex-vivo gene therapy Strimvelis. She transitioned to Orchard Therapeutics in 2018 following its acquisition of the GSK Rare Diseases portfolio to act as Supply Chain Senior Director. There she continued to manage global supply chain operational aspects for autologous cell and gene therapy products for both clinical and commercial supplies.

Joe Dupere, CEO of Rexgenero, commented: “Sadia is a fantastic addition to our leadership team. Her in-depth knowledge and proven track record in manufacturing operations and supply across multiple cell and gene therapy programmes will be invaluable as we progress both our REX-001 clinical candidate for chronic limb-threatening ischemia toward commercialization and our in vivo CAR-T platform.”

Sadia L’Baouch, newly appointed Chief Manufacturing Officer of Rexgenero, commented: “I’m glad to be joining Rexgenero at such a pivotal time for the company, having followed the acquisition of the in vivo CAR-T technology with great interest. I look forward to working with Joe and the rest of the team to push forward our integrated cell and gene therapy platform and cell therapy assets.”

Sadia has an MSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Compiégne, France, and an MBA in Business Administration from Warwick University, UK. She is an AIM Accredited Change Manager, and an IChemE Chartered Chemical Engineer.

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About Rexgenero

Rexgenero is a privately held, UK-based cell and gene therapy company pioneering the development of therapies to treat serious diseases such as chronic limb-threatening ischaemia (CLI), cancer and immunological disorders.

Rexgenero’s lead product, REX-001, consists of a suspension of immune and progenitor cells involved in immune modulation, blood vessel regeneration and remodelling and improvement in blood flow. It is manufactured using a patient’s own cells, avoiding undesired immune responses. REX-001 is currently being tested in pivotal, placebo-controlled, double-blind, adaptive Phase III SALAMANDER trials in patients with CLI and diabetes mellitus at multiple sites across Europe. Previous randomised REX-001 clinical trials have already demonstrated statistically significant proof of concept. In a Phase I/II and Phase II clinical trial, REX-001 showed very strong positive results in improvement of blood flow, healing of ulcers and alleviating chronic ischemic rest pain. All ulcers healed within 12 months in 82% of patients after treatment with REX-001 at the dose being currently tested in Phase III trials.

The company also has a pioneering synthetic gene delivery platform, including an off-the-shelf CAR-T therapy allowing the in vivo targeting and transduction of T-cells.

Rexgenero’s lentivector, encoding for the Chimeric Antigen Receptor, is coated with a polymeric envelope grafted with an anti-CD3 targeting moiety to target T-cells. In contrast to approved ex vivo CAR T-cell therapies, the company’s in vivo technology requires low-cost manufacturing. The genetic modification to express the CAR is generated directly in the patient. Rexgenero’s inducible, switchable, in vivo CAR-T platform, represents a significant advantage over current recently approved ex vivo CAR-T therapies, with the potential for more effective, more universal, and safer treatments.

Rexgenero has offices in London, UK with R&D and manufacturing operations in Seville, Spain and Paris, France and additional manufacturing capability in Frankfurt, Germany.

For more information, please visit www.rexgenero.com

Connect with us: Twitter: @_Rexgenero; LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rexgenero-limited/

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