Leaders in stem cell research and cell therapy to help drive development of scalable off-the-shelf therapies for diseases with a high unmet clinical need

Cambridge, UK, 02 November 2020: Mogrify Limited (Mogrify^®), a UK company aiming to transform the development of ex vivo cell therapies and pioneer the field of in vivo reprogramming therapies, has expanded its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) with the appointment of three new members. Profs. Christine Mummery, Graziella Pellegrini and Giulio Cossu will apply their experience in the transition of stem cell approaches from proof-of-concept through the clinic to product approval, to support the Company in developing scalable off-the-shelf therapies for diseases with a high unmet clinical need.

Profs. Mummery, Pellegrini and Cossu join Mogrify’s SAB, comprising academic and industrial leaders in drug discovery, immunology, oncology, bioinformatics, cell reprogramming and regenerative medicine: Dr. Jane Osbourn, OBE, Dr. Lorenz Mayr, Prof. Julian Gough, Prof. Owen Rackham and Prof. Jose Polo.

Christine Mummery, PhD is a Professor of Developmental Biology in the Department of Anatomy and Embryology at Leiden University Medical Center and founded the first induced pluripotent stem cell core facility in the Netherlands. Prof. Mummery became a guest professor at the Technical University of Twente to develop organ-on-chip models based on stem cells, is Founding Chair of the European Organ-on-Chip Society and heads a multimillion-euro research program focused on implementing these models in human stem cell research. She is a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Science, past board member of the Netherlands Medical Research Council and holds European Research Council Grants to study cardiac development and disease in humans based on stem cell models. She is a former Editor-in-Chief of the International Society of Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) journal, Stem Cell Reports, and became President of the society in 2020.

Graziella Pellegrini, PhD is a Professor at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Cell Therapy Program Coordinator at the Centre for Regenerative Medicine “Stefano Ferrari”, and Co-founder and R&D Director at Holostem Terapie Avanzate S.r.l. Prof. Pellegrini is renowned for her work in translational medicine and has developed epithelial stem cell-mediated cell and gene therapies for the treatment of severe eye and skin disease, including Holoclar^®, the first stem cell-based medicinal product to be approved by the European Commission. Prof. Pellegrini is a recipient of the ISSCR and Louis-Jeantet Prize, and the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society and European Tech Women Award, and has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters and nine patents. She is also a founding member of the International Ocular Surface Society and is involved with numerous other societies, committees and meetings covering stem cells and regenerative medicine.

Giulio Cossu, MD is a Professor of Regenerative Medicine at The University of Manchester and visiting professor at the Max Delbruck Centre, Charitè in Berlin. He is a fellow of the Medical Academy, Accademia dei Lincei, and European Academy of Science. He has been Panel Chair at the European Research Council and a member of the Committee for Advanced Therapies at the European Medicines Agency. Prof Cossu is recognized for his pioneering work on skeletal myogenesis, the identification and characterization of mesoangioblasts, and the first cell therapy trial to utilize stem cells for muscular dystrophy. He has authored over 250 peer-reviewed publications and is Senior Editor of EMBO Molecular Medicine and sits on the advisory board of several institutions across Europe. He has secured research grants for over €20 million, including two ERC Advanced Grants and coordination of three European Commission projects.

Darrin M. Disley, PhD, OBE, CEO, Mogrify, said: “Profs. Mummery, Pellegrini and Cossu bring a breadth of experience in stem cell approaches and cell therapy to the Mogrify SAB. Their know-how and expertise alongside that of existing SAB members will be vital in driving the application of our direct cell conversion technologies to develop novel cell and gene therapies capable of progressing through clinical development and onto regulatory approval.”

Christine Mummery, PhD, SAB Member, Mogrify, said: “Mogrify’s proprietary suite of platform technologies enable systematic identification of the key transcriptomic and epigenetic switches that drive the speed, efficiency and maintenance of cell conversions. This innovative approach has the potential to transform the development of ex vivo cell therapies and pioneer a new class of in vivo reprogramming therapies. We look forward to working with their exceptional team to help these progress.”

For further information about Mogrify’s leadership team, please visit: https://mogrify.co.uk/leadership-team/#_sab