Allogene Therapeutics (ALLO) Appoints Shuyuan Yao as Allogene Overland Biopharm CEO

Allogene Overland Biopharm (Allogene Overland), a joint venture created by Overland Pharmaceuticals and Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALLO), today announced the appointment of Shuyuan Yao, Ph.D. as Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Yao brings 15 years of scientific and management experience in advanced cell and gene therapy development, manufacturing and commercialization to lead Allogene Overland in its mission to bring innovative AlloCAR T™ therapies to patients in China and other Asian Pacific markets.

“It is a privilege to join Allogene Overland at an exciting time in the advancement of the CAR T cell therapy field,” said Shuyuan Yao, Ph.D. “As a trailblazing joint venture in Asia, Allogene Overland will expand the footprint of allogeneic cell therapies for patients around the globe and I am thrilled to collaborate with both Overland Pharmaceuticals and Allogene Therapeutics to jointly fulfill this important mission.”

Most recently, Dr. Yao served as Chief Scientific Officer, Head of Research & Technology Development of WuXi Advanced Therapies at WuXi AppTec where he led new technology acquisition, development, translation and application. Prior to being CSO, Dr. Yao served as WuXi Advanced Therapies China General Manager, establishing a new subsidiary company, ATU China. At the start of his tenure at WuXi AppTec Shanghai, he established and directed the Cell Therapy R&D business unit focusing on CAR T cell therapy development. He oversaw the rollout of this business unit to create JW Therapeutics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd, a joint venture between WuXi AppTec Shanghai and Juno Therapeutics, which was listed on the HKSE in November 2020, serving as VP of Operations. Before joining WuXi AppTec, Dr. Yao was Associate Director, Biology at Vertex Pharmaceuticals R&D (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. After earning his Ph.D., he completed a postdoctoral fellowship in chemical biology at The Scripps Research Institute. He started his pharmaceutical career at Sangamo Biosciences, later transitioning to various roles of increasing responsibility at Stemgent, CalCyte Therapeutics, and the Allen Institute for Brain Science.

Dr. Yao received his B.Sc. in Virology & Molecular Biology from Wuhan University, his M.Sc. in Virology & Immunology at the Chinese Academy for Preventive Medicine, and his Ph.D. in Molecular & Medical Genetics from the University of Toronto.

“Shuyuan has deep experience in drug development, commercialization and joint venture building, particularly in cell therapy,” said David Chang, M.D., Ph.D., President, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Allogene. “As the first allogeneic cell therapy company to establish a joint venture in China, we are proud to charge Shuyuan with leading Allogene Overland as it seeks to bring novel cell therapy treatments to patients with cancer in Asia.”

“Shuyuan’s experience at WuXi AppTec and JW Therapeutics in China gives him great perspective to lead our joint venture,” said Ed Zhang, MBA, Co-founder and Interim Chief Executive Officer of Overland Pharmaceuticals. “I am confident in his ability to oversee the development and global expansion of this cutting-edge technology platform. We are excited to further Allogene Overland’s pipeline under Shuyuan’s guidance.”

Allogene Overland’s pipeline is focused on the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of specific Allogene candidates targeting BCMA, CD70, FLT3, and DLL3 in the licensed territories. The joint venture also seeks opportunities to advance the global development of AlloCAR T therapies against these targets.

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