ROCKVILLE, Md., April 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Innovative Cellular Therapeutics, a clinical stage biotechnology company developing a comprehensive platform of chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapies with a focus on solid tumors, today announced the appointment of Lucy Lu, M.D. as Chief Operations Officer.
“We are excited to welcome Lucy to the team during this critical time for the company,” said Larry (Lei) Xiao, Ph.D., ICT’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “Her extensive experience across multiple business functions will contribute to our efforts in advancing our multiple programs into the clinic in the United States.”
“I am thrilled to be joining ICT,” said Lucy Lu, “ICT has achieved compelling clinical response data in its IRB trials, with a 50% Overall Response Rate (ORR) in the treatment of 3rd plus line colorectal cancer patients. I am enthusiastic to join ICT and help advance our clinical programs in the U.S.”
Dr. Lu joins us from Avenue Therapeutics, Inc., where she was the President and Chief Executive Officer from its inception until March 2022. During her tenure at Avenue, Dr. Lu co-invented the foundational patents for intravenous tramadol, led a Nasdaq IPO for Avenue, directed a successful Phase 3 development program, and signed a two-stage Stock Purchase and Mergers and Acquisition agreement with InvaGen Pharmaceuticals Inc., a subsidiary of Cipla Limited. From February 2012 to June 2017, Dr. Lu was the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Fortress Biotech, Inc. Prior to working in the biotech industry, Dr. Lu had 10 years of experience in healthcare-related equity research and investment banking. From February 2007 through January 2012, Dr. Lu was a senior biotechnology equity analyst with Citigroup Investment Research.
Dr. Lu holds an M.D. degree from the New York University School of Medicine and an M.B.A. from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University. Dr. Lu obtained a B.A. from the University of Tennessee’s College of Arts and Science.
About Innovative Cellular Therapeutics
Innovative Cellular Therapeutics (ICT) is a private clinical stage biotechnology company headquartered in Rockville, MD. ICT is focused on the development of cellular immunotherapies for the treatment of solid tumors. ICT’s unique CoupledCAR® technology platform is designed to overcome the common challenges of treating solid tumors. ICT has achieved promising preclinical and proof-of-concept clinical results in late-stage solid tumors, such as colorectal cancer and thyroid cancer. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has provided a Study-May-Proceed letter for the Company’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application for a Phase 1 clinical trial of GCC19CART targeting relapsed and refractory metastatic colorectal cancer. ICT expects to initiate this U.S. focused clinical trial, referred to as CARAPIA-1, in the summer of 2022. The Company has a broad pipeline of CAR-T candidates targeting additional solid tumors. For more information, please visit www.ictbio.com.
