• Dr. Amado’s Addition to the Senior Leadership Team Reunites Him with Former Colleagues in the Pursuit of Novel Immunotherapies

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif, Aug. 05, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALLO), a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of allogeneic CAR T (AlloCAR T™) therapies for cancer, today announced the appointment of Rafael G. Amado, M.D., as Executive Vice President of Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer. In this new position, Dr. Amado will lead Allogene’s clinical and research functions with the goal of rapidly advancing our pipeline of allogeneic CAR T therapies for hematologic and solid tumors.  Dr. Amado’s addition to the senior leadership team at Allogene reunites him with many former colleagues, including Arie Belldegrun, M.D. FACS, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder, who previously worked with Dr. Amado at UCLA and David Chang, M.D., Ph.D., President, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, who worked with him at UCLA and Amgen. Dr. Amado is expected to start with Allogene on or about September 3, 2019.

“I have observed first-hand Rafael’s exceptional ability to lead and successfully execute the clinical development of innovative therapies,” said Dr. Chang. “People are the key component of success. Rafael’s deep expertise in and passion for advancing breakthrough therapies for patients will be a perfect fit for Allogene as we continue to advance the development of our AlloCAR T pipeline.”

Dr. Amado has more than 15 years of biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry experience leading clinical and research teams. He joins Allogene from Adaptimmune, where he served as President of R&D, after serving as Chief Medical Officer. Prior to Adaptimmune, he held several roles of increasing responsibility at GSK, most recently as Senior Vice President and Head of Oncology R&D. In that position, Dr. Amado was responsible for integrating oncology R&D activities, from drug target identification to clinical development and registration globally. He oversaw the development and registration of more than 15 novel indications across six products and led the development of a pipeline of products in novel areas of cancer biology. Prior to GSK, Dr. Amado served as Executive Director of Therapeutic Oncology at Amgen, where he was responsible for worldwide clinical research strategy and execution and oversaw development activities for several investigational agents for molecularly characterized tumors. Before joining Amgen, he was on the faculty at the University of California, Los Angeles, most recently serving as Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology.

“I’ve built a career leading the development of a number of breakthrough therapies in hematology and oncology, and the last few years advancing adaptive T-cell therapy. I am excited by the opportunity to be a part of the team at Allogene as I believe they truly are poised to lead the next revolution in cancer treatment,” said Dr. Amado. “It is also personally gratifying to once again work alongside David Chang and Arie Belldegrun, as well as other members of the company’s world-class leadership team, and I am ready to hit the ground running as we build upon pioneering science that has the potential to transform cancer treatment for patients worldwide.”

Dr. Amado received an M.D. from the University of Seville School of Medicine and completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center, a University of Chicago-affiliated hospital. He completed a fellowship in hematology/oncology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

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 world-class 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 develop allogeneic CAR T therapies for cancer 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 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including without limitation in its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2019. 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.

Allogene Media/Investor Contact:
Christine Cassiano
Chief Communications Officer
(714) 552-0326
Christine.Cassiano@allogene.com

Source: Allogene Therapeutics, Inc.