WATERTOWN, Mass., March 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tome Biosciences, Inc., the programmable genomic integration (PGI) company, announces the formation of its Science and Technology Advisory Committee (STAC) comprised of four leaders in the delivery, development and manufacturing of genomic medicines: David T. Curiel, MD, PhD, Sadik Kassim, PhD, Cynthia Pussinen and Daniel Siegwart, PhD.
“David’s and Daniel’s pioneering work in novel delivery systems has the potential to enable broad applications for genomic medicines. These breakthroughs will be invaluable to us as we develop PGI technologies capable of inserting any DNA sequence of any size into user-defined genomic locations,” said John Finn, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer.
Added Matt Barrows, Chief of Quality and Technical Operations, “Sadik and Cynthia have the drug development and manufacturing expertise needed to bring innovative medicines to the patients in need, and we look forward to working closely with them.”
The founding members of Tome’s STAC:
David T. Curiel, MD, PhD, is a tenured professor in the Cancer Biology Division of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. His research is focused on gene transfer vectors to advance the human application of gene therapy, virotherapy, and vaccinology. Dr. Curiel’s scientific training includes tenureship at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland at the Pulmonary Branch of the Heart and Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and a fellowship in biotechnology at the National Cancer Institute, Navy Medical Oncology Branch. He serves as editor for Adenoviral Vectors for Gene Therapy and is a funded member of the NIH Common Fund’s Somatic Cell Genome Editing (SCGE) program. Dr. Curiel received his MD from Emory University, where he also completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine, and his PhD in virology from University of Groningen in The Netherlands.
Sadik Kassim, PhD, serves as Chief Technology Officer of Genomic Medicines for the Life Sciences companies at Danaher Corporation. He has extensive experience in the biotechnology industry with a specific focus on cell and gene therapy bioprocessing and translational research. In his prior roles, Dr. Kassim and his teams have contributed to the successful BLA and MAA applications for three of the commercially available CAR-T therapies: Kymriah®, Yescarta®, and Tecartus®. Prior to Danaher, Dr. Kassim was Chief Technology Officer at Vor Bio where he built the technical operations team responsible for process development, analytical development, supply chain and manufacturing support of a CRISPR gene-edited HSPC product and oversaw the company’s CAR-T efforts. Previously, Dr. Kassim served as Executive Director at Kite Pharma and led the development of manufacturing processes for autologous CAR-T and TCR-based cell therapies. As the Chief Scientific Officer at MustangBio, Dr. Kassim managed the foundational build-out of the company’s preclinical and manufacturing activities. Earlier in his career, he was Head of Early Analytical Development for Novartis’ Cell and Gene Therapies Unit and worked on research teams at the National Cancer Institute with Dr. Steven Rosenberg, the University of Pennsylvania Gene Therapy Program with Dr. Jim Wilson, and Johnson and Johnson’s Immunology Discovery group. He received his PhD in microbiology and immunology from Louisiana State University and his BS in cellular and molecular biology from Tulane University.
Cynthia Pussinen serves as CEO and a Director of the Board of Sernova. Her expertise spans the drug development continuum from research through commercialization. She has led the development, licensure, commercialization and/or subsequent delivery to patients of more than fifteen new medical therapies for patients globally, including Obizur® (Antihemophilic Factor (Recombinant), Porcine Sequence), Eraxis® (anidulafungin), Zmax® (azithromycin extended-release) and LUXTURNA® (voretigene neparvovec-rzyl), the first gene therapy approved in both the United States and the European Union. Most recently, Ms. Pussinen was the Chief Technical Officer for Spark Therapeutics, Inc., a fully integrated, commercial gene therapy company, and a member of the Roche Group; she also served as a Board Director for Spark Therapeutics Ltd in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Prior to joining Spark, Ms. Pussinen’s leadership roles include 6 years with Ipsen Biomeasure and Ipsen Biosciences, US R&D focused subsidiaries of Ipsen, where she served as President and CEO. Ms. Pussinen was also the Executive Vice President, Technical Development, Operations & Supply Chain for Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and the Global Vice President and General Manager, Life Sciences and Specialty Chemicals for Honeywell International. Early in her career Ms. Pussinen spent more than 18 years at Pfizer in a variety of increasingly responsible leadership roles across various functional areas. Ms. Pussinen received her MS in R&D management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and BS in chemistry, with a minor in engineering from the University of Connecticut.
Daniel Siegwart, PhD, a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Biochemistry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He holds the W. Ray Wallace Distinguished Chair in Molecular Oncology Research and serves as the Director of the Program in Genetic Drug Engineering, Director of the Drug Delivery Program in Biomedical Engineering, and Co-leader of the Chemistry and Cancer Program in the NCI-designated Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center. His research focuses on the development of new materials that can deliver genetic medicines to treat cancer and genetic diseases. In particular, he was the first to report in vivo CRISPR/Cas gene editing using non-viral carriers. He has designed synthetic carriers for various genome editors and applied these technologies for correction of genetic diseases, focusing on hepatic and extrahepatic delivery for organ and cell specific protein delivery, gene delivery, and gene editing. Dr. Siegwart developed Selective Organ Targeting (SORT) lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), which was named in Nature's "Seven technologies to watch in 2022." He received a BS in biochemistry from Lehigh University and a PhD in chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University, studying with Professor Krzysztof Matyjaszewski. He also studied as an NSF EAPSI Research Fellow at the University of Tokyo with Professor Kazunori Kataoka. He completed an NIH NSRA Postdoctoral Fellowship at MIT with Professor Robert Langer. He has received awards including a CPRIT Scholar Award, an American Cancer Society Research Scholar Award, the Young Innovator Award in Nanobiotechnology, Biomaterials Science Emerging Investigator Award, and election to the Controlled Release Society (CRS) College of Fellows and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) College of Fellows.
About Tome
Tome Biosciences, Inc., is the programmable genomic integration (PGI) company. Our technologies allow us to insert any genetic sequence of any size at any location in the genome with site-specific precision. We are writing the final chapter in genomic medicines, delivering cures to patients through cell and integrative gene therapies. Follow us on X @Tome_Bio and on LinkedIn. www.tome.bio.
PGI is a brand name and technology of Tome Biosciences, Inc.
Contacts:
For media:
CG Life
CGL.TomeBio@cglife.com
For investors:
Michelle Avery, PhD, SVP, Corporate Affairs
investors@tome.bio
