• Charlene Banard, Gerard Fleury, Evan Greger, and Carson Sublett will help accelerate the progress of Matica Bio's cell and gene therapy manufacturing, operations, and business strategy.

Matica Biotechnology, Inc. (Matica Bio), a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) specializing in the GMP production of cell and gene therapies (CGTs), today announced the appointment of four experienced leaders in biotechnology and the life sciences to its board of advisors: Charlene Banard, Gerard Fleury, Evan Greger, and Carson Sublett.

As the inaugural members of Matica Bio’s advisory board, these appointments will provide strategic oversight as the company executes the development, scale-up, and production of CGTs at its purpose-built GMP facility in Texas. Combined with Matica Bio’s bespoke approach to CGT manufacturing – enabled by a fully closed, single-use platform and industry-leading analytical capabilities – the incoming leadership of this newly established advisory board will further empower the company to meet the growing demand for CGT manufacturing expertise.

“Matica Bio is thrilled to introduce the accomplished members of our newly formed board of advisors,” said Yun Jeong Song, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Matica Bio. “Through their extensive biomanufacturing experience and their unique expertise in diverse fields, the advisors will enhance the technical excellence of our in-house team. This synergy positions us to collaborate effectively with CGT developers, forging a path towards life-saving medicines and delivering greater client success.”

Each of Matica Bio’s new board members will assume advisory roles in their respective areas of expertise to advance the company’s position within the CGT manufacturing industry:

• Charlene Banard, quality and technical operations expert: Banard, who has led technical operations and driven quality excellence and lifecycle strategy for innovative technology platforms – including the first commercial allogeneic and autologous cell therapies – at companies including Novartis, Atara, Shire, Gilead and Cell Genesys will assume the role of quality and technical operations expert.
• Gerard Fleury, financial strategist: Fleury will apply his more than 30 years’ experience in CDMO focused corporate leadership – guiding companies through various business cycles including start-up, growth, hyper growth, optimization, and turnaround – as the board’s financial strategist.
• Evan Greger, technical operations and product development expert: Greger, whose professional track record includes successful end-to-end biologic and CGT value generation, development, and commercialization at biotechnology companies including outsourced operations with Novartis, Juno Therapeutics, Cell Design Labs, and Amgen, will be the board’s technical operations and product development specialist.
• Carson Sublett, business operations advisor: Sublett has led business operations for one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, GlaxoSmithKline, and some of the industry’s leading CDMOs. He will guide Matica Bio’s business strategy as business operations advisor.

The formation of Matica Bio’s board of advisors comes shortly after the hiring of Laura Parks as head of commercial operations and Heather N. Sugrue as vice president of business development. Earlier this year, Matica Bio launched MatiMax, a proprietary HEK293 cell line platform that includes both adherent and suspension cell lines of two different types, HEK293 and HEK293T, and can accelerate CGT development for biotech companies with enhanced speed and superior quality.

About Matica Biotechnology, Inc.

Matica Biotechnology, Inc. (Matica Bio) is a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) specializing in fully integrated cell and gene therapy manufacturing. The industry-leading experts at our state-of-the-art facility in College Station, Texas, deliver breakthrough therapies rapidly and safely through innovative manufacturing solutions. Advance your therapy from idea to patient with the experts at Matica Bio. Visit www.maticabio.com.

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