SAN DIEGO and SUZHOU, China and SHANGHAI, China, Sept. 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gracell Biotechnologies Inc. ("Gracell" or the "Company", NASDAQ: GRCL), a global clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing  innovative and highly efficacious cell therapies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune disease, today announced that its Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer William (Wei) Cao, Ph.D., B.M., has been named to the PharmaVoice 100, a recognition of the most inspiring leaders in the life-sciences industry.

“I am deeply honored and humbled to receive recognition from our industry’s most prominent leaders,” Dr. Cao said. “This accolade not only reflects my personal dedication, but is also an endorsement of the entire Gracell team’s commitment to developing innovative, next-generation CAR-T cell therapies designed to address the major challenges that have emerged in this space, with shorter manufacturing times and potentially improved T-cell fitness. It's truly inspiring to see the innovation and our collective efforts acknowledged and celebrated.”

Since 2005, PharmaVoice has been honoring individuals from across all sectors of the life-sciences industry, whose leadership reflects a commitment to viewing industry trends as opportunities, driving innovation, and, ultimately, improving the lives of patients.

With more than 30 years of experience in the life science industry, Dr. Cao has led Gracell since its founding in 2017. Under Dr. Cao's leadership, Gracell has been developing a rich pipeline of transformational CAR-T therapies, aiming to broaden the use of breakthrough cell therapies across hematological malignancies, solid tumors and autoimmune conditions. The lead candidate, BCMA/CD19 dual-targeting CAR-T GC012F, developed on the Company’s proprietary, award-winning FasTCAR next-day manufacturing platform, has demonstrated deep and durable responses in several investigator-initiated trials (IIT) among patients with multiple myeloma and B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In 2023, Gracell commenced a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial in U.S. evaluating GC012F for the treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) and is also initiating a company-sponsored Phase 1/2 clinical trial in China evaluating GC012F in RRMM. Additionally, the Company launched an IIT evaluating GC012F for the treatment of refractory systemic lupus erythematosus (rSLE) in the second quarter of this year. In 2022, FasTCAR was named the winner of the Biotech Innovation category of the 2022 Fierce Life Sciences Innovation Award for its potential to address major industry obstacles.

PharmaVoice will be recognizing and celebrating its award honorees on Thursday, Oct. 26 at 3:40-4:30PM EDT. The PharmaVoice100 honoree program is part of a two-day virtual event hosted by PharmaVoice and BioPharma Dive’s team of award-winning journalists – The Next Frontier for the Life Sciences – which will examine top trends shaping the drug development industry. The event will bring together newsmaking leaders from across pharma and biotech for keynote presentations, panels and fireside chats. To learn more and register for the event, see here.

About Gracell

Gracell Biotechnologies Inc. (“Gracell”) is a global clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering and developing breakthrough cell therapies for the treatment of cancers and autoimmune diseases. Leveraging its innovative FasTCAR and TruUCAR technology platforms and SMART CAR™ technology module, Gracell is developing a rich clinical-stage pipeline of multiple autologous and allogeneic product candidates with the potential to overcome major industry challenges that persist with conventional CAR-T therapies, including lengthy manufacturing time, suboptimal cell quality, high therapy cost, and lack of effective CAR-T therapies for solid tumors and autoimmune diseases. The lead candidate BCMA/CD19 dual-targeting FasTCAR-T GC012F is currently being evaluated in clinical studies for the treatment of multiple myeloma, B-NHL and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). For more information on Gracell, please visit www.gracellbio.com. Follow @GracellBio on LinkedIn.

Cautionary Noted Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release about future expectations, plans, and prospects, as well as any other statements regarding matters that are not historical facts, may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words “anticipate,” “look forward to,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including factors discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Gracell’s most recent annual report on Form 20-F, as well as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties, and other important factors in Gracell’s subsequent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof. Gracell specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether due to new information, future events, or otherwise. Readers should not rely upon the information on this page as current or accurate after its publication date.

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