The clinical-stage biotech CytoImmune Therapeutics welcomes Puerto Rico native and biochemistry and molecular biology expert José Eduardo Vidal, Ph.D., to lead the cellular and virus manufacturing capabilities.
TOA BAJA, Puerto Rico, Dec. 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CytoImmune Therapeutics, a clinical-stage cell immunotherapy company developing novel natural killer (NK) cell therapies to fight cancer, appoints José Eduardo Vidal, Ph.D. as its Chief Operating Officer.
“Jose is a tremendous addition to the team at CytoImmune and will lead the manufacturing capabilities here in Puerto Rico. This enables us to generate ample cells for all of our planned clinical trials. Given his experience with allogeneic cell therapies and his leadership in the field, we expect to rely heavily on his expertise in our mission to provide novel cellular medicines for patients battling metastatic solid tumors and refractory hematologic malignancies,” said CytoImmune CEO Christina Coughlin, MD, Ph.D.
Dr. Vidal joins CytoImmune from Atara Bio, where he led the Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) and was instrumental in the development of Atara’s allogeneic T-cell therapy. He was responsible for Global Quality Assurance Operations, functionality and compliance, and Process Sciences. Moreover, he was in charge of the product manufacturing processes development from the preclinical stage to commercialization.
Prior to Atara, Dr. Vidal was Vice President of Global Product Process Development and Vice President of Drug Substance Operations at Amgen. He supervised over 1,000 employees and oversaw a budget of half a billion dollars while managing its worldwide product development network.
Before holding several senior and executive roles in pharmaceutical companies such as Wyeth, Pfizer, and prominent startups, including Biovail, Dr. Vidal earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Puerto Rico and a Ph.D. in cellular molecular biology.
With over two decades in developing biopharmaceuticals worldwide, Dr. Vidal will manage CytoImmune’s cell and virus manufacturing and lead the operations team in Puerto Rico in its mission against cancer.
“I feel humbled and incredibly fortunate for the opportunity to join Dr. Caliguiri and the team at CytoImmune as we begin clinical studies,” said Jose Eduardo Vidal, Ph.D. “I also welcome an opportunity to return home to Puerto Rico and contribute to the island’s R&D clinical cell therapy footprint.”
CytoImmune Therapeutics formed a Puerto Rico subsidiary in 2020 and has hired 40 employees to support its cell therapy manufacturing activities in Toja Baja, Puerto Rico.