GAITHERSBURG, Md., July 02, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: RNAC) (the “Company”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering mRNA cell therapy for autoimmune diseases, today announced the appointment of Kemal Malik, MBBS to its Board of Directors. Dr. Malik brings to Cartesian over 30 years of global development, regulatory, and commercial expertise at leading pharmaceutical organizations.

"We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Malik, a proven leader and industry veteran, to our Board of Directors,” said Carsten Brunn, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Cartesian. “His deep experience in successfully advancing innovative therapies through all stages of drug development and ultimately delivering them to patients will be invaluable as we progress our pipeline of mRNA cell therapies for treating autoimmune diseases. We look forward to leveraging his insights and counsel as we strive to expand the reach of cell therapy to autoimmunity.”

“Cartesian’s innovative mRNA platform has enormous potential to expand the benefits of cell therapy to autoimmune diseases,” said Dr. Malik. “I look forward to working alongside the talented management team as we work toward the goal of delivering novel therapies to patients with limited therapeutic options.”

Dr. Malik spent nearly 25 years in key leadership positions at Bayer, where he served for ten years as Head of Global Development and Chief Medical Officer, leading the company’s clinical development and regulatory functions, notably overseeing twenty consecutive positive Phase 3 trials and the approval of several blockbuster drugs across multiple therapeutic areas. Prior to this role, he served as Head of the Global Medical organization. Dr. Malik began his career at Bristol-Myers Squibb where he held various roles focused on medical affairs, clinical development, and new product commercialization.

Following his role as Head of Development, Dr. Malik was appointed to the Executive Board of Management of Bayer where he was responsible for driving innovation across the Bayer group. In this role, he established Bayer LEAPS, a business unit responsible for strategic innovative medicines, including cell and gene therapies and mRNA technology. Dr. Malik currently serves as a Board member of Syncona, a scientific advisor for Atomwise, and a member of the Board of Trustees for Our Future Health. He previously served on the Board of Directors of Acceleron Pharma.

Dr. Malik studied at the Imperial College School of Medicine in London receiving a B.Sc. in Pharmacology and graduating with MBBS. He is a member of the Royal College of Physicians.

About Cartesian Therapeutics

Cartesian Therapeutics is a clinical-stage company pioneering mRNA cell therapies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. The Company’s lead asset, Descartes-08, is a potential first-in-class mRNA CAR-T in Phase 2b clinical development for patients with generalized myasthenia gravis and Phase 2 development for systematic lupus erythematosus, with a Phase 2 basket trial planned in additional autoimmune indications. The Company’s clinical-stage pipeline also includes Descartes-15, a next-generation, autologous anti-BCMA mRNA CAR-T. For more information, please visit www.cartesiantherapeutics.com or follow the Company on LinkedIn or X, formerly known as Twitter.

Forward Looking Statements

Any statements in this press release about the future expectations, plans and prospects of the Company, including without limitation, statements regarding the Company’s mission of expanding the reach of cell therapy to autoimmunity, the Company’s goal of delivering novel therapies to patients with limited therapeutic options, the potential of Descartes-08, Descartes-15, or any of the Company’s other product candidates to treat myasthenia gravis, systemic lupus erythematosus, or any other disease, the anticipated timing or the outcome of ongoing and planned clinical trials, studies and data readouts, the anticipated timing or the outcome of the FDA’s review of the Company’s regulatory filings, the Company’s ability to conduct its clinical trials and preclinical studies, the timing or making of any regulatory filings, the anticipated timing or outcome of selection of developmental product candidates, the novelty of treatment paradigms that the Company is able to develop, the potential of any therapies developed by the Company to fulfill unmet medical needs, and enrollment in the Company’s clinical trials and other statements containing the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “hypothesize,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “would,” and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including, but not limited to, the following: the uncertainties inherent in the initiation, completion and cost of clinical trials including proof of concept trials, including uncertain outcomes, the availability and timing of data from ongoing and future clinical trials and the results of such trials, whether preliminary results from a particular clinical trial will be predictive of the final results of that trial and whether results of early clinical trials will be indicative of the results of later clinical trials, the ability to predict results of studies performed on human beings based on results of studies performed on non-human subjects, the unproven approach of the Company’s technology, potential delays in enrollment of patients, undesirable side effects of the Company’s product candidates, its reliance on third parties to conduct its clinical trials, the Company’s inability to maintain its existing or future collaborations, licenses or contractual relationships, its inability to protect its proprietary technology and intellectual property, potential delays in regulatory approvals, the availability of funding sufficient for its foreseeable and unforeseeable operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements, the Company’s recurring losses from operations and negative cash flows, substantial fluctuation in the price of the Company’s common stock, risks related to geopolitical conflicts and pandemics and other important factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and in other filings that the Company makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, any forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company’s views only as of the date of its publication and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. The Company specifically disclaims any intention to update any forward-looking statements included in this press release, except as required by law.

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