SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Oct. 25, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATRA), a leading off-the-shelf, allogeneic T-cell immunotherapy company developing novel treatments for patients with cancer, autoimmune and viral diseases, today announced the departures of Dr. Christopher Haqq, Chief Scientific Officer, and Mina Kim, General Counsel and Head of Corporate Strategy.
“I want to thank Chris and Mina for their significant contributions to Atara,” said Pascal Touchon, President and Chief Executive Officer of Atara Biotherapeutics. “As the first Atara employee, Chris was instrumental in our incredible progress and most important milestones. He decided to leave Atara to pursue an outside opportunity with a private company that aligns with his other scientific interests and the current needs of his family. He will continue to work with Atara in an advisory role for at least six months to support our research strategy and academic collaborations. The Head of Pre-clinical and Translational Research, Blake Aftab, Ph.D., will now report directly to me.”Touchon continued, “Mina has built the legal team with both talent and capabilities. She has decided to join a private technology company and will remain in an advisory role through March 2020.”“It has been a pleasure to serve Atara since the Company’s inception, and I am proud of the accomplishments we have made,” said Dr. Haqq. “I remain a strong believer in Atara’s technologies and look forward to continue to work with the company to advance its leading off-the-shelf, allogeneic T-cell immunotherapy platform and pipeline.”Atara continues to actively search for a new Global Head of Research and Development as well as a new Head of Commercial. The Company also plans to recruit a new General Counsel.About Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc.
Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (@Atarabio) is a leading off-the-shelf, allogeneic T-cell immunotherapy company developing novel treatments for patients with cancer, autoimmune and viral diseases. Atara’s technology platform leverages research collaborations with leading academic institutions with the Company’s scientific, clinical, regulatory and manufacturing expertise. Atara’s pipeline includes tab-cel® (tabelecleucel), which is in Phase 3 development for patients with Epstein-Barr virus-associated post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (EBV+ PTLD) as well as in earlier stage development for other EBV-associated hematologic malignancies and solid tumors, including nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC); T-cell immunotherapies targeting EBV antigens believed to be important for the potential treatment of multiple sclerosis; and next-generation chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) immunotherapies. The company was founded in 2012 and is co-located in South San Francisco and Southern California. Our Southern California hub is anchored by the state-of-the-art Atara T-cell Operations and Manufacturing (ATOM) facility in Thousand Oaks, California. For additional information about the company, please visit atarabio.com.INVESTOR & MEDIA CONTACT:John Craighead, Ph.D.
Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Atara Biotherapeutics
650-410-3012
jcraighead@atarabio.com
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