Cellular Origins, a TTP Company focused on enabling scalable, cost-effective and efficient manufacture of cell and gene therapies (CGTs), has today announced the formation of its Advisory Board with the appointment of four globally recognised leaders across the cell and gene therapy (CGT) and robotics sectors — Professor John Campbell, Dr Matthew Li, Dr Paul Roberts, and Geoffrey Hodge. The newly formed Advisory Board will provide a diverse range of scientific, technical and strategic insights to support Cellular Origins’ growth as it continues to develop its robotic platform for the scalable and cost-effective manufacture of advanced therapies, Constellation™.
Professor John Campbell is the co-founder of several cell therapy startups, including Resolution Therapeutics and Swarm Oncology. He brings over 30 years’ experience in the immunology and cell therapy space, with significant expertise in process development and cell therapy manufacture. John was formerly the Director of Tissues, Cells and Advanced Therapeutics and National Head of Research at the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service in Edinburgh.
Dr Matthew Li has worked in the academic and industrial biotech fields for over 14 years, with a focus on devices, CGT R&D, and manufacturing. In his current role as Director, Cell Therapy CMC at Tome Biosciences, as well as previously at Takeda and Vor Biopharma, Matthew has been intimately involved in the due diligence, assessment, and product development of numerous emerging CGT manufacturing technologies.
Dr Paul Roberts is the co-founder of CMR Surgical, where his team developed robotic technologies enabling patient access to minimally invasive surgery. Paul has extensive experience in bringing robotics technology to market in newly regulated environments, having provided key leadership in raising the largest ever MedTech private financing round with CMR Surgical in 2021. Prior to this, Paul led and grew capabilities in complex medical device development at the Science Group Plc.
Geoffrey Hodge was most recently CEO of SOTIO Biotech US and CTO of Unum Therapeutics, both autologous cell therapy companies. Prior to cell therapy, Geoff was the co-founder of Xcellerex, where he was the primary inventor of the XDR single-use bioreactor and head of the CDMO biomanufacturing services business, which grew to $50M in revenue prior to its acquisition by GE Healthcare.
Dr Edwin Stone, CEO of Cellular Origins, commented: “We are looking forward to working closely with John, Matthew, Paul and Geoff. Whilst the challenges of the cell therapy industry faces are unique, there is an enormous amount to be gained by making sure we incorporate both the lessons from the journey the field has been on to date, and the lessons that have been learned in other industries. I’m excited by the breadth of experience they have, having unique knowledge and experience that I’m confident will be invaluable to the Cellular Origins’ mission to develop scalable and cost-effective robotic technology for the automated manufacture of advanced therapies.”
Professor John Campbell, Advisor for Cellular Origins, said: “Cellular Origins offers a transformative solution for scalable cell therapy manufacture with their innovative robotic platform, Constellation. I look forward to joining the team as part of the Advisory Board, where my own experience and that of my colleagues on the board will support Cellular Origins through this exciting time in their development and growth.”