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Unum Therapeutics Expands Board with Appointment of Two Additional DirectorsUnum Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel immunotherapy products designed to harness the power of a patient's immune system to cure cancer, today announced the appointment of Karen J. Ferrante, MD, and Robert J. Perez to its Board of Directors. Dr. Ferrante, a hematologist-oncologist, most recently served as Chief Medical Officer and Head of Research and Development at Tokai Pharmaceuticals and brings over 20 years of oncology drug development experience to the Board. Mr. Perez is the former Chief Executive Officer of Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a role he held until Cubist's acquisition by Merck in 2015. Mr. Perez, a long-time biopharmaceutical executive, brings extensive experience in building and leading biopharmaceutical companies and overseeing the commercial launch of numerous successful drugs. "Karen and Rob are recognized leaders in the biotechnology industry and bring a wealth of development, commercialization, and operational experience to our Board," said Chuck Wilson Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Unum. "We look forward to drawing on their significant expertise as we continue to rapidly advance and expand our pipeline of ACTR based cancer treatments for patients in need." "Unum's unique engineered T cell approach to treating different cancers has enormous potential," said Dr. Ferrante. "I look forward to working with Unum to hep guide its efforts to bring these novel therapies to patients." "I'm excited to begin working with the team at Unum as they grow and advance their pipeline of anti-cancer immunotherapies," said Rob Perez. "Unum has the potential to be a real leader in this highly competitive and fast-moving space." Dr. Ferrante served as Chief Medical Officer and Head of Research and Development at Tokai Pharmaceuticals from 2014 until her retirement in 2016. Prior to Tokai, Dr. Ferrante held several senior level positions at Millennium Pharmaceuticals and parent company, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, including Oncology Therapeutic Area Head, Takeda Cambridge Site Head, and Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Ferrante has also previously held positions of increasing responsibility at Pfizer Global Research and Development and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Dr. Ferrante holds an MD from Georgetown University and completed her internship and residency in internal medicine at New England Deaconess Hospital (now part of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center) followed by a fellowship in hematology and oncology. She currently serves as a member of the boards of Macrogenics, Progenics Pharmaceuticals, and Hutchinson China MediTech Limited (Chi-Med). Mr. Perez is the founder and managing partner of Vineyard Sound Advisors, providing advisory services to companies in the biopharmaceutical industry. He is also the founder and chairman of Life Science Cares, a nonprofit organization focused on fighting poverty in the greater Boston area. He previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. until its acquisition by Merck in 2015. Prior to his tenure as Cubist's CEO, Mr. Perez held multiple roles including President, Chief Operating Officer, and Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, where he oversaw the launch of Cubicin (daptomycin for injection). He also held roles of varying commercial responsibilities in the industry, including serving as Vice President of Biogen's central nervous system (CNS) commercial organization and as a regional business director at Zeneca Pharmaceuticals. He currently serves on the boards of directors at several public and private companies.
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