BRISBANE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Maverick Therapeutics Inc., a private immuno-oncology company pioneering advances in redirected T cell therapeutics, today announced the appointment of Chulani Karunatilake, Ph.D. as Senior Vice President of Technical Operations.
“With more than 30 years of experience, Dr. Karunatilake brings his expertise and capabilities to Maverick at a crucial time, as the company focuses on advancing our lead molecules toward the clinic. Further, his extensive contribution to the development and commercialization of pioneering monoclonal antibodies and protein conjugates at premier biotechnology companies will be extremely valuable as we continue to invest in and expand our manufacturing capabilities to meet the needs of our growing COBRA™ platform,” said Jim Scibetta, Chief Executive Officer.
In this new role, Dr. Karunatilake will serve as a member of the Maverick executive team and will be responsible for strategy and execution of Maverick’s operational plans for product development, drug manufacturing, technology transfer and quality control. He will also be responsible for all activities related to the production of early phase clinical materials produced at contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) for the company’s in-house programs.
“It is with great pleasure that I join Maverick Therapeutics during this exciting time of discovery, development and growth,” said Dr. Chulani Karunatilake. “I’m excited to work with this highly innovative team and play a role in advancing the company’s manufacturing capabilities. Throughout my career, I have overseen development and commercialization of several innovative platforms and look forward to applying those experiences to my work at Maverick.”
Dr. Karunatilake joins Maverick from Nektar Therapeutics where he established and led the Biologics CMC division, enabling rapid development of their polymer conjugated cytokine franchise. Previously, he held positions at Amgen, Novartis, Genentech and Eli Lilly. Dr. Karunatilake received his Ph.D. in Chemistry/Biochemistry from the University of Illinois.
About Maverick Therapeutics
Maverick Therapeutics is pioneering the next generation of potent, selective immunotherapies for solid tumors by focusing on applying deep integrated expertise in drug development to design and deliver a pioneering immunotherapy platform. Maverick’s highly innovative COBRA™ therapeutic platform is designed to eliminate solid tumors, while avoiding damage to normal healthy tissues, thereby improving safety while maintaining efficacy. Maverick was founded in 2016 by a team of leading experts in protein engineering and T-cell therapeutic research and development. In early 2017, Maverick announced $125 million of committed funding from Takeda Pharmaceuticals (“Takeda”), MPM BioVentures 2014 and MPM Capital’s UBS Oncology Impact Fund. Based on the promise of the Company’s early-stage research, Maverick entered a five-year drug development project with Takeda. For further information, please visit www.mavericktx.com.
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