Obsidian Therapeutics Announces Leadership Transition and Appoints Paul K. Wotton, Ph.D., as Chief Executive Officer

Experienced CEO brings expertise in product development, cell and
gene therapies, and public biotechnology companies as Obsidian positions
itself for future growth

Michael Gilman, Ph.D, to continue to serve on Obsidian’s Board of
Directors

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Obsidian
Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing cell-based
therapeutics with controllable operating systems, today announced the
appointment of Paul K. Wotton, Ph.D., as Chief Executive Officer. He
succeeds Michael Gilman, Ph.D., who will focus on Arrakis Therapeutics
and continue to serve on Obsidian’s Board of Directors.

“I am thrilled that we are able to bring an outstanding leader like Paul
to Obsidian,” said Dr. Gilman. “Paul’s substantial experience, his
strategic business savvy, together with his in-depth of knowledge of
cell and gene therapies make him a natural choice to lead the Obsidian
team and advance its next generation cell and gene therapies into the
clinic.”

Dr. Wotton brings significant global biotechnology and pharmaceutical
industry leadership experience spanning scientific research, product
development and corporate growth gained over a thirty-year career. Dr.
Wotton most recently served as the Founding President and CEO of Sigilon
Therapeutics, Inc. Prior to Sigilon, Dr. Wotton served as President and
Chief Executive Officer of Ocata Therapeutics until its acquisition by
Astellas Pharma where he was also Co-Chairman of the Office of
Integration. In previous roles, he served as President and Chief
Executive Officer of Antares Pharma as well as Chief Executive Officer
of Topigen Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Wotton is a named inventor on numerous
patents and was the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Regional (NJ)
Winner Life Sciences in 2014. He serves on the Boards of Directors of
Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ: VCEL), Veloxis Pharmaceuticals A/S
(Copenhagen: VELO) and Cynata Therapeutics (ASX: CYP).

“We welcome Paul to lead Obsidian through its next phase of growth,”
said Peter Barrett, Ph.D., Chairman of the Board of Obsidian and Partner
at Atlas Venture. “His deep experience in managing platform growth
opportunities will be invaluable in building Obsidian to its full
potential. The Board would also like to thank Mike Gilman for leading
Obsidian’s significant progress to date and building a strong company
foundation.”

“I am excited to be joining Obsidian Therapeutics at a pivotal time for
the company,” said Dr. Wotton. “Mike and the team have built a
world-class organization, executed on a strategic transformative
partnership, and established Obsidian’s technology as the premier
synthetic biology platform for regulating gene and cell-based
therapeutics. It is clear that Obsidian is well positioned for future
growth, and I look forward to working with the Board and the team to
execute on our shared vision and advance this breakthrough technology
rapidly to improve therapeutic outcomes substantially for many patients
with life-threatening diseases, including cancer.”

About Obsidian Therapeutics

Obsidian
Therapeutics is a biotechnology company developing next-generation
cell and gene therapies with pharmacologic operating systems based on
proprietary Destabilizing
Domains (DD) technology. Obsidian’s lead programs incorporate
controllable functions into CAR-T and other cellular medicines so they
can be precisely tuned by a companion small-molecule medicine to control
and optimize therapeutic effect in a dose dependent manner. Obsidian is
using DD technology to create a suite of regulated factors that can be
incorporated into cell and gene therapies to provide pharmacological
control of enhanced therapeutics for cancer and other diseases. Based
upon the work of Professor Thomas Wandless, a leading researcher in
chemical and systems biology, Obsidian was founded in 2015 and is funded
by a strong syndicate of venture investors. The company is headquartered
in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Please visit www.obsidiantx.com.

Contacts

Kathryn Morris, The Yates Network
914-204-6412
[email protected]