SEATTLE, July 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nohla Therapeutics, a leading developer of universal, off-the-shelf cell therapies for patients with hematologic malignancies and other critical diseases, today announced the hiring of Sarah Noonberg, M.D. Ph.D., as its new Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Noonberg will oversee Nohla’s clinical and medical strategy, including clinical development, biostatistics, pharmacovigilance, regulatory and medical affairs. The company also announced today that Nohla founder, Colleen Delaney, M.D., M.S.c., has been named Chief Scientific Officer. In this role, Dr. Delaney will oversee Nohla’s scientific and research strategy. Both Dr. Noonberg and Dr. Delaney will report to Katie Fanning, President and Chief Executive Officer and serve on Nohla’s executive leadership team.
"Sarah's broad expertise and proven track record in global clinical development will be invaluable to Nohla as we continue to advance our pipeline of universal, off-the-shelf cell therapy products toward commercialization,” said Katie Fanning, President and Chief Executive Officer at Nohla Therapeutics. “Sarah joins Nohla at a significant time with data expected later this year from the Phase 2b study evaluating our lead product candidate, dilanubicel, in patients with AML and other leukemias undergoing a myeloablative cord blood transplant.”
Dr. Noonberg is a board-certified physician-scientist that brings over 14 years of leadership experience in clinical development, from initial drug discovery to global regulatory approvals and commercialization. Prior to joining Nohla, Dr. Noonberg served as the Chief Medical Officer at Prothena, Global Head of Clinical Development at BioMarin, and Senior Vice President at Medivation where she led programs across all phases of development. She currently serves on the Board of Directors at Protagonist Therapeutics. Dr. Noonberg earned her M.D. from the University of California San Francisco, a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and a B.S. in Engineering Science from Dartmouth College.
Ms. Fanning continued, “These changes support both the near-term opportunities and long-term growth and development of our novel pipeline. Colleen’s role as our scientific founder makes her uniquely qualified to lead Nohla’s scientific strategy as we look to expand the scope of our cell therapy platform through internal development and strategic collaborations. With the hiring of Sarah and appointment of Colleen, we have a seasoned executive leadership team that can deliver on the promise of Nohla’s innovative cell therapy technology.”
Dr. Delaney is the Founder and former Chief Medical Officer at Nohla Therapeutics. She is a Member of the Fred Hutch Clinical Research Division and recipient of the Madeline Dabney Adams Endowed Chair, and a Professor at the UW Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. Dr. Delaney’s group at Fred Hutch developed cryopreserved, non-HLA matched off-the-shelf ex vivo expanded cord blood progenitor cells – the foundation for Nohla’s technology platform. She received a B.S. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from Wesleyan University, an M.D. from Harvard Medical School, and an M.Sc. from Oxford University.
About Nohla Therapeutics
Nohla Therapeutics is a leading developer of off-the shelf cell therapies for patients with cancer and other critical diseases. Nohla’s proprietary notch ligand technology platform serves as the foundation for its ongoing clinical, preclinical and discovery programs. The company’s lead product candidate, dilanubicel, is currently under evaluation in two ongoing Phase 2 trials. Nohla is also pursuing multiple preclinical and discovery programs in the areas of immune tolerance and other diseases. More information is available at www.nohlatherapeutics.com or on Twitter @nohlatx.