Allogene Therapeutics Announces Ton Schumacher, Ph.D., Chair of Scientific Advisory Board, Awarded the Dutch Research Council’s Stevin Prize
Dr. Schumacher Awarded Prestigious Academic Prize in the Netherlands for Research in Cancer Immunotherapy
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., July 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. (ALLO), a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of allogeneic CAR T (AlloCAR T™) therapies for cancer, announced that Ton Schumacher, Ph.D., Principal Investigator at the Netherlands Cancer Institute and chair of Allogene’s Scientific Advisory Board, has been awarded the Stevin Prize. Considered one of the highest distinctions in science for researchers working in the Netherlands, a maximum of two Stevin Prizes are awarded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) each year to a researcher or team whose work has a major social impact.
“We are thrilled that Ton, an internationally renowned immunologist and researcher, has been recognized for his outstanding pioneering and inspiring contributions to cancer immunotherapy with the prestigious Stevin Prize,” said David Chang, M.D., Ph.D., President, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Allogene. “Ton has played a crucial role in understanding how the immune system responds to tumors and translated his scientific discoveries into potential treatments for cancer. We are proud to have him lead our Scientific Advisory Board, where he provides strategic and scientific advice to Allogene as we continue to innovate in allogeneic cell therapy and advance the clinical development of our investigational AlloCAR T therapies.”
Dr. Schumacher was awarded this year’s Stevin Prize for his work in cancer immunotherapy research demonstrating that in many cancer patients a T cell response is formed against the neoantigens that are generated as a consequence of DNA damage. Following this discovery, he collaborated with clinical researchers to translate these insights into novel immunotherapeutic treatments and established several companies to ensure that these treatments would be developed. As a Stevin laureate, Dr. Schumacher will receive 2.5 million euros for novel research, which he intends to use to build an algorithm to predict which cancer antigens individual T cells can recognize.
In addition to his role at the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam, Dr. Schumacher is Professor of Immunotechnology at Leiden University Medical Center and a member of Oncode Institute, the virtual Dutch cancer research institute. He is the founder of four biotechnology companies focused on immuno-oncology, including most recently, the co-founding of Neogene Therapeutics which provides unique access to tumor-specific, TIL-derived TCRs for engineered T cell therapy in solid cancers. In addition to the Stevin Prize, Dr. Schumacher is a recipient of, among others, the Amsterdam Inventor Award, Queen Wilhelmina Cancer Research Award, San Salvatore Award, Meyenburg Cancer Research Award, and William B. Coley Award.
About Allogene Therapeutics
Allogene Therapeutics, with headquarters in South San Francisco, is a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor T cell (AlloCAR T™) therapies for cancer. Led by a management team with significant experience in cell therapy, Allogene is developing a pipeline of “off-the-shelf” CAR T cell therapy candidates with the goal of delivering readily available cell therapy on-demand, more reliably, and at greater scale to more patients. For more information, please visit www.allogene.com, and follow @AllogeneTx on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The press release may, in some cases, use terms such as "predicts," "believes," "potential," "proposed," "continue," "estimates," "anticipates," "expects," "plans," "intends," "may," "could," "might," "will," "should" or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding intentions, beliefs, projections, outlook, analyses or current expectations concerning, among other things: the ability to innovate in allogeneic cell therapy and advance the clinical development of investigational AlloCAR T therapies, and the potential benefits of AlloCAR T therapy. Various factors may cause differences between Allogene’s expectations and actual results as discussed in greater detail in Allogene’s filings with the SEC, including without limitation in its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020. Any forward-looking statements that are made in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. Allogene assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this press release.
AlloCAR T™ is a trademark of Allogene Therapeutics, Inc.
Allogene Media/Investor Contact:
Christine Cassiano
Chief Communications Officer
(714) 552-0326
Christine.Cassiano@allogene.com
