Building a team of leading experts in the field of Regulatory T cell-based therapy and biology

London, 13 June 2019 – Quell Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on developing engineered T regulatory (Treg) cell therapies, announces the appointment of Iain McGill, as Chief Executive.  Iain is a leading pharmaceutical executive with extensive relevant experience having spent the majority of his 25 years in the industry in the area of solid organ and cell transplantation.

Quell Therapeutics was founded by Syncona Ltd in March 2019, in partnership with six prominent experts from King’s College London (KCL), University College London (UCL) and Hannover Medical School, in the exciting field of T regulatory cells (Tregs). Tregs are a subset of T cells capable of down regulating the immune system. Quell Therapeutics is developing therapies which harness the suppressive capacity of Tregs to address several conditions of immune dysfunction utilising gene-modified cells. The company aims to address a range of conditions including solid organ transplant rejection, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Syncona led the Series A financing committing £34.0 million with a further £1.0 million being contributed by UCL Technology Fund.

Elisa Petris, Partner of Syncona Ltd, said: “We recently founded Quell Therapeutics in order to build the leading Treg cell engineering company with the potential to develop first-in-class therapies in an innovative field and are delighted to have appointed such an experienced pharmaceutical executive as Iain as Chief Executive to lead the Company.  We have brought together a talented team of world-class leaders in their respective fields in the founding team and we look forward to building out the executive team and working with them as we deliver on the Company’s goal of becoming the leader in treating conditions of immune dysfunction using engineered Tregs.”

Iain McGill, Chief Executive Officer of Quell Therapeutics added:

“I am delighted to be leading such an exciting company. With Syncona’s vision and the backing of leading experts in the Treg field, cell engineering, solid organ transplantation and autoimmune diseases from KCL, UCL, and Hannover Medical School, Quell Therapeutics has a real opportunity to bring transformational therapies to patients who are in need of safer and more effective therapies to manage their conditions.”

Professor Giovanna Lombardi, Professor of Human Transplant Immunology at Kings College London and Founding Partner, commented: “Syncona has significant expertise in the T cell field and has brought together a unique cross-section of leading academics to form Quell Therapeutics. Iain is an experienced leader and we have a common goal of developing engineered Treg cell therapies for the treatment of a range of conditions including solid organ transplant rejection, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.”

Iain McGill (Chief Executive Officer) brings to Quell Therapeutics a track record established over 25 years in the pharmaceutical business; 15 of which focused specifically in the field of solid organ and cell transplantation. Prior to joining the company, he served as Senior Vice President Europe and Rest of World for Jazz Pharmaceuticals, an international biopharmaceutical company, where he was instrumental in growing an international footprint for Jazz and was an integral member of the management team. From 2010 to 2012, Iain was at EUSA Pharma, an entrepreneurial private-equity backed start-up pharmaceutical company where he served as Chief Commercial Officer and was part of the management team which successfully built EUSA Pharma and sold to Jazz Pharmaceuticals for $700M in 2012. Prior to that, Iain served in various General Management and Senior Leadership positions in the field of Transplantation and Immunology for Wyeth, Novartis and Roche Pharmaceuticals. He has lived and worked in the UK, Switzerland, Canada and the US across both large multinationals and small start-up businesses and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from the University of London.

Further information:                                                                       

FTI Consulting

Brett Pollard / Ben Atwell / Natalie Garland-Collins

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3727 1000

JW Communications

Julia Wilson

+44 (0) 7818 430877

About Quell Therapeutics

Quell Therapeutics is a privately held biotechnology company with a vision to become a leading engineered TRegs cell therapy company. The company is developing next generation engineered T-regulatory (TReg) cell therapies for a range of solid organ transplant and autoimmune conditions.

Quell Therapeutics was founded by Syncona in partnership with six leading experts in the TRegs field, cell engineering, solid organ transplantation and autoimmune diseases: Giovanna Lombardi, Professor of Human Transplant Immunology at Kings College London (KCL), Alberto Sanchez-Fueyo, Professor of Hepatology in the Institute of Liver Studies at KCL, Hans Stauss, Professor of Tumour Immunology and Director of the Institute of Immunity and Transplantation at University College London (UCL), Emma Morris, Professor of Clinical Cell & Gene Therapy and Inflammation, Immunity and Immunotherapeutics Theme Director, National Institute for Health Research University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre, Marc Martinez-Llordella, Senior Lecturer in the Institute of Liver Studies at KCL and Elmar Jaeckel, Co-Leader Liver Transplant program MHH, Group Leader “Immune tolerance” in the Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology at Hannover Medical School.

About Syncona:

Syncona is a leading FTSE250 healthcare company focused on founding, building and funding global leaders in life science. Our vision is to deliver transformational treatments to patients in truly innovative areas of healthcare while generating superior returns for shareholders.

We seek to partner with the best, brightest and most ambitious minds in science to build globally competitive businesses.We take a long-term view, underpinned by a deep pool of capital, and are established leaders in gene and cell therapy. We focus on delivering dramatic efficacy for patients in areas of high unmet need.