Vittoria Therapeutics Announces Appointment of Life Sciences Veteran Rosemary Mazanet, M.D., Ph.D. as Chief Medical Officer

2024-02-27

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PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 27, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vittoria Biotherapeutics, a clinical-stage cell therapy company, has announced today that accomplished life sciences leader, Rosemary Mazanet, M.D., Ph.D., has joined the Company as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Mazanet brings over 20 years of C-suite leadership experience across all stages of drug development, backed by an exceptional track record in evaluating, conceiving, articulating, and executing clinical development and strategic visions across both public and private companies. In her role, Dr. Mazanet will serve on the Company’s executive team and will be responsible for providing leadership and direction to guide Vittoria's clinical development strategy and execution, including the advancement of Vittoria’s lead candidate, VIPER-101, into the clinic for patients with T-cell lymphoma. “Drawing on her extensive expertise in the oncology and hematology drug development ecosystem, Dr. Mazanet will be an invaluable asset to Vittoria’s executive team as we enter first-in-human studies for our lead program,” said Nicholas Siciliano, Ph.D., Vittoria’s Chief Executive Officer. “Her commitment to advancing the development of novel therapeutics in oncology demonstrates her passion for improving patient outcomes, and we’re honored to have her join in our mission to deliver groundbreaking cell therapies to patients in need.” Dr. Mazanet added, “I’m thrilled to be joining the talented Vittoria team and look forward to working with our leadership and Board to progress VIPER-101 through the clinic. Vittoria’s innovative approach to CAR-T development could change the treatment paradigm for T-cell lymphoma patients struggling with this debilitating disease. I am both inspired and excited to participate in Vittoria’s mission to turn the Senza5 CD5 knockout strategy into meaningful therapies across many disease states.” Prior to joining Vittoria, Dr. Mazanet served as interim C-suite management and as a Strategic Advisor to many companies and funds through her consultancy business, R Mazanet LLC, which was established in 2004. Dr. Mazanet has experience in public equity markets having served as Managing Partner at Apelles Investment, LLC from 2007 to 2014, and as the head of Research at Oracle Partners LP beginning in 1998. Before her public equity work, Dr. Mazanet worked at Amgen, Inc., where she led Clinical Development teams that conducted successful oncology and infectious disease programs resulting in multiple product approvals. Dr. Mazanet is an Emeritus Trustee at the University of Pennsylvania Health System and has served as the Chair of the Executive Advisory Board for the Wharton Leonard Davis Institute since December 2020. Dr. Mazanet holds a B.A. in biology from the University of Virginia, and an M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Mazanet received her clinical training in internal medicine and oncology at Harvard Hospitals. About Senza5 Senza5 is a proprietary cell therapy engineering and manufacturing platform that combines the power of genetic engineering and a proprietary five-day manufacturing process to maximize stemness, durability, and efficacy of its produced cell therapies by disabling the CD5 signaling pathway on engineered CAR-T cells, and bypassing CD5's immunosuppressive effects to amplify the therapy’s antitumor activity. Stemness is further enhanced by the expedited five-day manufacturing process which promotes greater in vivo expansion and durability, and the potential for longer-lasting responses. By acting on the fundamental biology of T cells, Senza5 can be widely utilized to improve the efficacy of engineered T-cell therapies. About VIPER-101 VIPER-101 is a gene-edited, autologous, CAR-T cell therapy for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory T-cell lymphoma. Viper-101 is uniquely engineered by Vittoria’s proprietary Senza5 technology, to both avoid fratricide and unlock the benefit of circumventing the inhibitory CD5 signaling pathway. Vittoria is currently enrolling in its Phase 1 study of VIPER-101 and anticipates announcing data from this trial in the first half of 2025. About Vittoria Biotherapeutics Vittoria Biotherapeutics, Inc., is developing novel CAR-T cell therapies that transcend the limitations of current cell therapies. Based on technology exclusively licensed from the University of Pennsylvania, the Company’s proprietary Senza5 platform unlocks the antitumor potential of engineered T cells and utilizes a five-day manufacturing process to maximize stemness, durability, and target cell cytotoxicity. By acting on the fundamental biology of T cells, Senza5 can be used to improve the efficacy of engineered T cell therapies with pipeline applications in oncology and autoimmune diseases. To learn more, visit vittoriabio.com and follow us on LinkedIn. Investor Contact Vittoria Biotherapeutics Nicholas A. Siciliano, Ph.D. Chief Executive Officer +1 215-600-1380 Media Contact LifeSci Communications Jason Braco, Ph.D. jbraco@lifescicomms.com +1 646-876-4932