London, UK, October 26, 2021 – Ori Biotech Ltd., an innovator in cell and gene therapy (CGT) manufacturing technologies, today announces additions to its Board of Directors and its Scientific Advisory Board. Ori has made these additions as it expands from an R&D focus to commercialization in preparation for the launch of the first-generation platform. Dr Annalisa Jenkins will join Ori’s Board of Directors, and Robert Preti will join its Scientific Advisory Board. These appointments follow the recent C-Suite additions of Kevin Gordon as Chief Data and Operating Officer (CDOO) and Stuart Milne as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and further extend Ori’s leadership position in cell and gene therapy manufacturing technology.
Annalisa Jenkins brings significant experience building and scaling commercial businesses in life sciences, specifically cell and gene therapy. As CEO of Dimension Therapeutics, Board Chair at Kuur (formerly CellMedica) and a Director of several additional healthcare organizations, Annalisa has built private companies and taken them onto the public markets in both the US and UK. Annalisa’s experience and networks and her engagement as an advisor to the FDA and board member of Genomics England will provide unique insights to the Ori Board and management team as the company continues to grow.
Robert Preti, former chair of the Alliance of Regenerative Medicine and founder of PCT, adds over 30 years of CGT business building experience to Ori’s Scientific Advisory Board. In addition, he brings extensive CGT manufacturing expertize, having built the first Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) in cell and gene therapy, the former PCT that became Hitachi Chemical Advanced Therapeutic Services and most recently Minaris Regenerative Medicine.
“Having recently expanded Ori’s management, operational and scientific teams, the appointment of experienced industry leaders like Annalisa and Bob puts Ori in an incredibly strong position. This is as we rapidly move from R&D into a commercial launch focus, expanding our work with new and existing commercial partners to bring our first-generation platform to market. As a new member of our accomplished Board, Annalisa’s range of global expertize and leadership, specifically with regulators and bringing companies public, will play a vital role in guiding Ori as we enter the next phase,” said Jason C. Foster, CEO of Ori Biotech.
“Adding Bob’s tremendous experience and extensive global network to our Advisory Board together with other leaders in cell and gene therapy like Bruce Levine, Anthony Davies, Morrie Ruffin, Deanna Peterson and Jian Irish, further strengthens Ori’s scientific and clinical expertize to deliver on our mission to enable widespread patient access to life-saving cell and gene therapies,” said Farlan Veraitch, CSO and Founder of Ori Biotech.
About Ori Biotech
Ori is a London and New Jersey based manufacturing technology company pioneering flexible process discovery with seamless translation and scalable commercialization of cell and gene therapies. Ori has developed a proprietary, full-stack manufacturing platform that closes, automates and standardizes CGT manufacturing allowing therapeutics developers to develop and bring their products to market at a commercial scale. The innovative Ori platform promises to fully automate CGT manufacturing to increase throughput, improve quality and decrease costs by combining proprietary hardware, software, data and analytics.
Ori was founded in 2015 by Dr Farlan Veraitch (UCL) and has brought together a seasoned Board and executive management team with over 150 years of pharmaceutical, CGT and venture building experience, including CEO Jason C. Foster (Indivior), CBO Jason Jones (Miltenyi), CDOO Kevin Gordon (Tmunity), CTO Stuart Milne (Cytiva), VP Tom Heathman (Minaris), VP David Smith (Minaris) alongside expert advisors like Bruce Levine, Anthony Davies, Bob Preti and Annalisa Jenkins.