MONROVIA, Calif., June 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — CytoImmune Therapeutics, a clinical-stage immunotherapy company developing a novel class of NK cell-based therapies for cancer, announced today the appointment of Douglas E. Williams, Ph.D., to its Board of Directors, effective as of June 15, 2021. Dr. Williams brings decades of leadership experience in biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and has served in numerous executive and board roles.
“We are very pleased to welcome Douglas to the board,” said Richard T. Santulli, CytoImmune’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “As CytoImmune grows, we require deeper expertise in areas of strategic leadership as well as corporate governance. Doug is an accomplished industry leader and board member and his guidance will be invaluable in advancing our portfolio of natural killer (NK) immunotherapies for cancer. His appointment as a director comes at an opportune time for our company, as we plan to initiate clinical trials with three of our therapeutic candidates in 2021.”
Dr. Williams stated, “I have spent much of my career with biopharmaceutical companies seeking treatments and cures for numerous diseases. CytoImmune’s proprietary NK cell engineering platform offers the promise for off-the-shelf, outpatient cancer treatments that have the potential to dramatically improve standard of care in a wide range of hematological and solid tumors. I am looking forward to working with the CytoImmune board to help make the company’s vision a reality.”
Douglas E. Williams, Ph.D., currently serves as President and CEO of Codiak Biosciences. He was previously Biogen’s Executive Vice President, Research and Development. Prior to that, he spent six years at Zymogenetics, initially as Executive VP and Chief Scientific Officer and then in roles of increasing responsibility, culminating in his promotion to CEO. He oversaw the sale of Zymogenetics to Bristol Myers Squibb for $985 million. Earlier in his career, Dr. Williams spent over a decade at Immunex Corp., serving in a series of scientific and senior leadership positions including Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Senior Vice President of Discovery Research and Vice President of Research and Development. Prior to working in industry, Dr. Williams served on the faculty of the Indiana University School of Medicine and the Department of Laboratory Medicine at the Roswell Park Memorial Institute in Buffalo, New York.