Translational R&D insights for the allogeneic CAR T cell therapy field and beyond
Immuno-Oncology Insights 2021; 2(4), 187–193
10.18609/ioi.2021.025
Published: 5 August 2021
Interview
Barbra Sasu
Barbra Sasu, PhD, is the Chief Scientific Officer of Allogene. Barbra joined Allogene as Chief Scientific Officer in April 2018 when the company acquired the allogeneic cell therapy assets from Pfizer. Barbra received a PhD from the Paterson Institute for Cancer Research in Manchester, UK, in the laboratory of T. Michael Dexter, FRS. She conducted postdoctoral research at Harvard Medical School in the laboratory of T. Keith Blackwell, MD, PhD. Barbra joined Amgen in 2001 to work on normal and malignant hematology initially and later expanded her focus to include immune-oncology with an emphasis on T-cell redirective therapies, specifically BiTE molecules. In 2013, she joined Pfizer to become involved with large molecule immuno-oncology including the Pfizer T-cell redirection programs and led diligence to look for a CAR T collaboration partner. This collaboration search resulted in the Cellectis partnership in 2014 and the collaboration with Servier for clinical execution of UCART19 and other preclinical assets.