Dr. Hartl, former Therapeutic Area Head – Autoimmunity/Transplantation/Inflammation at Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research (NIBR), to lead Quell’s innovative multi-modular Treg cell therapy programs into clinical development

LONDON, July 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Quell Therapeutics Ltd (“Quell”), the world leader in developing engineered T-regulatory (Treg) cell therapies for serious medical conditions driven by the immune system, announces the appointment of Dominik Hartl, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Hartl brings significant drug development and translational medicine experience from blue-chip pharmaceutical and biotech organizations where he led programs from discovery through early-stage clinical development, as well as deep clinical expertise in immunology, including transplantation, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.

“The breadth of knowledge Dominik has gained working at leading science-driven companies at the cutting edge of translational medicine, alongside his extensive clinical experience, makes him a crucial addition to our team,” said Iain McGill, Chief Executive Officer of Quell Therapeutics. “We are delighted to welcome Dominik during this exciting time as we prepare to progress our pipeline of multi-modular engineered Treg cell therapies into clinical development across indications in transplant rejection, neuro-inflammation and autoimmunity. Our key near term priority is to advance our lead candidate QEL-001, a potentially transformational Treg cell therapy to prevent organ rejection in liver transplant patients, into the Phase 1/2 LIBERATE clinical trial, which is on track to start in Q1 2022.”

“I am pleased to join Quell at such an important stage of its development,” said Dr. Hartl. “With QEL-001 poised to enter the clinic, the Company is making meaningful progress toward advancing its pipeline of industry leading, highly differentiated engineered Treg cell therapies for the treatment of patients in significant areas of unmet need. I look forward to guiding QEL-001 and future programs into the clinic and beyond and making an important contribution to Quell’s future success.”

Dr. Hartl joins Quell Therapeutics from Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR), at which he held the role of Therapeutic Area Head – Translational Medicine/Biomarkers for Autoimmunity/Transplantation/Inflammation (ATI). In this role, Dr. Hartl specialized in the design, development and advancement of early clinical studies for innovative autoimmune therapies combining precision-medicine approaches and biomarker-based tissue technologies.

Previously, Dr. Hartl held senior roles at Galapagos and Roche Pharma focused on translational medicine strategies to establish clinical proof of concept for novel therapeutic candidates targeting immunology/autoimmune disease with unmet need.

Dr. Hartl is Board Certified in General Medicine and Pediatrics and spent 18 years in clinical practice and academic research, specializing in pediatric immunology, rheumatology, and pulmonology. In addition, Dr Hartl currently holds an Adjunct Professorship of Pediatric Immunology at the University of Tübingen. Dr. Hartl completed post-doctoral training at the Yale University School of Medicine/Immunobiology and received his M.D. at the University of Regensburg, Technical University of Munich and LMU Munich.

About Quell Therapeutics

Quell Therapeutics is the world leader in developing engineered T-regulatory (Treg) cell therapies that aim to harness, direct and optimize their immune suppressive properties to address serious medical conditions driven by the immune system.

The Company is leveraging its pioneering phenotype lock technology, unique multi-modular platform and integrated manufacturing capabilities to design and develop a pipeline of highly engineered Treg cell therapies with greater potential for persistence, potency and stability than earlier generations of Treg cell therapy approaches.

Quell’s lead candidate QEL-001 is being developed to induce operational tolerance following liver transplantation, with the potential to protect the post-transplant liver without the need for chronic immunosuppressive medications. Quell is also advancing additional programs in neuro-inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. www.quell-tx.com.

Contacts

Media: Mark Swallow, Frazer Hall
MEDiSTRAVA Consulting
+44 207 638 9571
Quell-Tx@Medistrava.com 

Investors: Christina Tartaglia
Stern Investor Relations, Inc.
+1 212 362 1200
christina@sternir.com