SUDA Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX:SUD) has appointed Dr Sandhya Buchanan as VP of manufacturing and quality for its newly acquired iNKT cell therapy platform.
The company has recently secured the exclusive, global licence to the novel platform developed at Imperial College London.
Dr Buchanan’s role encompasses leading the technology transfer, manufacturing, and quality aspects for the production of the cell therapy for clinical development stages.
SUDA CEO and MD Michael Baker said: “We are delighted to have someone of Dr Buchanan’s calibre joining the team at SUDA.
“Dr Buchanan’s extensive experience in the production of cell and gene therapies will be an important factor as we advance our iNKT cell therapy into and through the clinical stages of development.”
Experience and expertise
Dr Buchanan has more than 20 years of experience working in cell & gene therapy and vaccine development.
She is joining the company from Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA), a biotechnology company pioneering off-the-shelf cell therapies for treating cancer and autoimmune disease.
At Atara Biotherapeutics, Dr Buchanan served as the chemistry manufacturing and control technical lead for autologous CAR-T programs and head of Viral Vector Development; managing both internal and external collaborations.
Before joining Atara Biotherapeutics, she has held senior roles at Torque Therapeutics (now Repertoire Immune Medicines), FujiFilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, Penn Medicine, a world-renowned academic medical centre in Philadelphia, and Novartis.
Dr Buchanan has a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Centre and has co-authored a number of peer-reviewed scientific articles and patents.
NWR Virtual Investor Conference
The biotechnology company, which is focusing on developing therapies to treat cancer and conditions that affect the central nervous system, has also announced that Baker will be presenting at the NWR Virtual Investor Conference at 2:20 pm AEST on Tuesday, August 3, 2021.