Cell Design Labs Appoints Roger Sidhu, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer

EMERYVILLE, Calif., Aug. 01, 2017 -- Cell Design Labs, Inc. today announced the appointment of Roger Sidhu, M.D., to the newly created position of Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Sidhu will be responsible for the design and development of Cell Design Labs’ clinical programs as well as providing insight into therapeutic applications for its proprietary CAR-T and adoptive T cell therapies (TCR-T) for the treatment of cancer and other complex diseases. In this new role, Dr. Sidhu will report to Brian Atwood, Chief Executive Officer of Cell Design Labs.

“Roger brings extensive experience as he was a leader in the development of Amgen’s deep hematology/oncology portfolio,” said Brian Atwood, Co-Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cell Design Labs. “His broad clinical knowledge and established track record will be instrumental in guiding the clinical development of our innovative cell therapies, particularly as we look toward the application of our proprietary synNotch™ and THROTTLE Switch™ technology platforms in liquid and solid tumors.”

“The science and vision of Cell Design Labs’ management team is quite compelling,” said Dr. Sidhu.  “The opportunity to create next-generation customized cell therapies represents a new era in medicine as this powerful technology platform may play a major role in developing more effective and safer therapeutics for patients with cancer, autoimmune and infectious diseases.”

Dr. Sidhu comes to Cell Design Labs from Amgen, where he most recently held the position of Global Product General Manager. In that role, he was responsible for strategy, development and commercialization of Amgen’s portfolio of early-stage immuno-oncology molecules with a focus on solid tumors. He directed programs across multiple platform technologies including CAR-T cell therapies, antibodies, vaccines and bispecific T-cell engagers (BiTEs). Prior to serving as Global Product General Manager, he held escalating positions within Amgen’s hematology/oncology department where he provided therapeutic area leadership for a portfolio of hematology/oncology therapeutics including Vectibix®, Imlygic®, Blincyto®, Kyprolis®, rilotumumab, trebaninib, Neupogen/Neulasta®, Aranesp®, Nplate® and XGEVA®.  He has extensive experience leading global product specific partnerships and collaborations.  Importantly, he led successful regulatory filings for oncology therapeutics resulting in marketing approval from both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency. He received his B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Alberta in Alberta, Canada, his M.D. from Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada and completed a medical oncology fellowship at the British Columbia Cancer Agency in British Columbia, Canada.  He is an author on numerous publications and presentations.

About Cell Design Labs, Inc.
Cell Design Labs is a biotherapeutics company pioneering breakthrough science to develop disruptive cell-based therapies. Based on innovative research from Dr. Wendell Lim’s lab at UC San Francisco, Cell Design Labs leverages the power of the body’s immune system to develop smart, living therapies with the capability to treat our most challenging diseases with unprecedented power, precision, safety and durability. Using its proprietary technology platform for custom cell engineering, Cell Design Labs will develop its own portfolio of anticancer therapies as well as create partnerships with leading oncology companies. Initially focused on cancer, including both hematologic and solid tumors, this broad technology may also have applications in other complex diseases such as autoimmune and degenerative disorders. To learn more about Cell Design Labs, please visit our web site at: www.celldesignlabs.com.

synNotch and THROTTLE Switch are trademarks of Cell Design Labs, Inc.                

Contacts: 
Angela Bitting (media)				
For Cell Design Labs						
925-202-6211						
[email protected] 

Julie Wood (investors)
For Cell Design Labs	
925-818-3456