HOUSTON, June 01, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Coya Therapeutics, Inc. (Coya™), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing first-in-class approaches utilizing autologous regulatory T cells (Tregs) and Treg-derived exosome therapeutics for neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases, today announced that it has appointed Ann Lee Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Cell Therapy Development and Operations at Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), to the Company’s Board of Directors, effective immediately.
“Dr. Lee is one of the leading cell therapy technical development, supply chain and manufacturing executives in the biopharmaceutical industry,” said Howard Berman, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Coya Therapeutics. “At Coya, we are revolutionizing cell therapy manufacturing and supply chain management via proprietary cryopreservation to overcome prior limitations of Treg cell therapies. Dr. Lee’s expertise will be instrumental as we advance in the clinic and build out manufacturing partnerships.”
At BMS, Dr. Lee leads teams responsible for developing new cell therapy processes and technologies, manufacturing cell therapy products, designing new facilities, and building the global supply chain to deliver these new medicines for patients. Previously, she served as Executive Vice President of Technical Operations at Juno Therapeutics, which was acquired by BMS via Celgene. Prior to Juno, Dr. Lee joined Genentech in 2005, and she became SVP, Genentech and Head of Global Technical Development at Roche in 2009. She was responsible for developing and delivering all clinical stage products in Roche’s global pipeline, as well as technology transfers and technical support for all commercial products. Earlier, she was at Merck & Co., where she led and developed new vaccines and technologies in R&D, and then was responsible as VP for process engineering and technical operations at 10 chemical sites around the world. Over the course of her career, she has contributed to the development of hundreds of new investigational drugs, and the licensure and commercialization of 25 new vaccines and medicines, with the most recent being two new CAR-T cell products for blood cancers.
Dr. Lee has authored over 40 scientific publications and holds several patents. She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, and member of the Washington State Academy of Sciences. She serves on the Board of Directors for American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Alliance of Regenerative Medicine, and JW Therapeutics. She earned her undergraduate degree from Cornell University and a masters and Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering with a concentration in molecular biophysics and biochemistry from Yale University.
About Coya Therapeutics, Inc.
Headquartered in Houston, TX, Coya Therapeutics™ is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing first-in-class and best-in-class approaches utilizing adoptive regulatory T cells (Tregs) to target disease. The company’s CTreg™ (Cryopreservation for Tregs) system is patent pending and the first in the industry to overcome prior limitations of Treg cell therapies, allowing for serial infusions from a single manufacturing round. Through our proprietary TAI™ (Tregs Against Inflammation™) and patent pending iscEXOTM (immunosuppressive cell Exosome) platforms, Coya is focused on the advancement of disease modifying approaches to address the significant unmet medical needs of patients with ALS, Frontotemporal Dementia, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and autoimmune diseases. For more information, please visit
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