BOSTON & LOUISVILLE, Ky.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Talaris Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company developing transformative cell therapies that have the potential to induce durable immune tolerance across a range of indications, today announced the expansion of its senior leadership team with the appointments of Michael Zdanowski as Chief Technology Officer, Farah Natoli as Head of Portfolio and Program Management and Mary West as Vice President, Clinical Operations.
“The appointments of Michael, Farah and Mary build on our recently announced Series B financing to position Talaris for long-term success, as we advance our ongoing Phase 3 trial in living donor kidney transplant, prepare for additional Phase 2 trials next year and further realize the ‘pipeline in a product’ potential of our unique cell therapy. Their accomplished and diverse backgrounds in manufacturing, portfolio strategy and clinical operations will be key assets guiding our future strategic direction,” said Scott Requadt, Chief Executive Officer of Talaris. “We are excited to welcome them to the Talaris team and look forward to their important contributions to Talaris’ continued success.”
Mr. Zdanowski, Chief Technology Officer, is an accomplished leader in cell therapy manufacturing with over 25 years of experience. He has led manufacturing, logistics, quality and analytical development groups for stem cell organizations, and led design, construction and validation of facilities for commercial manufacturing for such firms as Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Bayer Pharmaceuticals and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. He was most recently Senior Vice President of BioPharmaceutical Operations for Medeor Therapeutics. Previously, Mr. Zdanowski was Vice President of GMP Operations for the New York Stem Cell Foundation and Vice President of Manufacturing for Mesoblast. Mr. Zdanowski has prepared FDA & EU CMC submissions for several late-stage stem cell products, including the BLA supporting FDA approval for the first allogeneic stem cell therapy product, HemaCord®. He received his MBA from Columbia University and degrees in mechanical engineering and philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania.
Ms. Natoli, Head of Portfolio and Program Management, brings deep expertise in strategic direction and operational oversight of program advancement. (Read more…) She served most recently as Vice President, Program Management at Imara, in which capacity she provided strategic and operational leadership for Imara’s global programs in sickle cell anemia and beta-thalassemia. Previously, Ms. Natoli served as the Executive Director, Program and Alliance Leadership at Bioverativ, a Sanofi Company; prior to that she held roles at AMAG Pharmaceuticals and FORUM Pharmaceuticals. Ms. Natoli holds an M.S. in natural sciences from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, a division of State University of New York at Buffalo, and graduated with a B.S. in biology-chemistry and medical technology from Elmira College.
Ms. West, Vice President, Clinical Operations, brings an extensive background in complex clinical trial execution and team leadership. Most notably, she led all clinical operations at Boston-based Alnylam Pharmaceuticals for their lead product, Onpattro®, in a successful registration trial that recruited over 220 patients globally and led to the historic approval of the product in late 2018. Ms. West previously served in clinical operations leadership roles at Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Acambis Pharmaceuticals, Millennium Pharmaceuticals and Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. Until recently, she was Head of Clinical Operations at BlueRock Therapeutics, where she implemented all of their GCP quality systems and laid the operational groundwork for their first IND. Ms. West received her M.S. in project management from Boston University and her B.S. in dietetics from Michigan State University.
About Talaris Therapeutics
Talaris Therapeutics, Inc. is a late-clinical stage biotechnology company that is developing transformative cell therapies with the potential to eliminate the burden of chronic immunosuppression for organ transplant recipients as well as induce durable remissions in patients with severe autoimmune and immune-mediated disorders. Talaris is backed by a number of leading life sciences investors and maintains corporate offices in Boston, Mass., and its cell processing facility in Louisville, Ky. www.TalarisTx.com.
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Ten Bridge Communications
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