PRESS RELEASE
7th July 2020

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Mogrify adds Dr. Lorenz Mayr to Board of Directors and Scientific Advisory Board

Cambridge, UK, 7th July 2020: Mogrify Ltd (Mogrify®), a UK biotechnology company aiming to transform the development of cell therapies by the systematic discovery of novel cell conversions, today announced the appointment of Lorenz Mayr, PhD, to the Board of Directors and the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Dr. Mayr will initially join the Board of Directors as an observer, providing valuable insights into the development and manufacture of ex vivo cell therapies and in vivo reprogramming therapies and advising on the Company’s therapeutic program selections, before assuming full board member status later this year.

Dr. Mayr has over 30 years’ experience in biopharma research, development and commercialization. He joins the Mogrify Board having most recently been Chief Technical Officer at GE Healthcare Life Sciences, where he was responsible for all global R&D activities, talent development and company growth strategy across all business areas including cell therapy manufacturing. His previous industry roles include Vice President & Global Head at AstraZeneca, where he oversaw the generation of biological reagents and assay development activities across all therapeutic areas, and Executive Director at Novartis Pharma AG. He is a Biochemistry lecturer at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and has published over 60 papers in peer-reviewed journals. He obtained his PhD in Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of Bayreuth. Dr. Mayr currently serves as an Entrepreneur in Residence at Syncona Ltd.

Darrin M. Disley, PhD, CEO, Mogrify, said: “We are excited to welcome Dr. Mayr to both the Board of Directors and the Scientific Advisory Board. His appointment further strengthens our senior team, which includes industry leaders in platform technologies, drug development and biotech company building. Lorenz’s expansive knowledge of pre-clinical R&D, clinical drug development and manufacture and his global biotech and pharma network will be invaluable in our mission to transform the development of lifesaving therapies in disease areas including hematology, immunology and ophthalmology.”

Lorenz Mayr, PhD, Board and SAB member, Mogrify, added: “Mogrify has developed an innovative direct cellular conversion technology that has a great potential for diseases with a high unmet clinical need. The Company is well-positioned to address shortcomings in the cell therapy space as well as pioneer in vivo reprogramming therapies, and I am pleased to be joining at such an exciting stage in its growth. I am looking forward to working with a team with proven world-class scientific and commercial expertise.”

For further information about Mogrify’s team, please visit: www.mogrify.co.uk/board-of-directors

Notes to Editors

Dr. Lorenz Mayr

Dr. Lorenz Mayr

Mogrify Board of Directors and SAB

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Mogrify Contacts
Darrin M. Disley, PhD, OBE
Tel: + 44 (0)1223 734154
Email: [email protected]

Zyme Communications (media enquiries)
Michelle Ricketts
Tel: +44 (0)7789 053 885
E-mail: [email protected]

Westwicke, an ICR Company (investor enquiries)
Stephanie Carrington
Tel: +1 (646) 277-1282
Email: [email protected]

About Mogrify www.mogrify.co.uk

Mogrify® has developed a proprietary direct cellular conversion technology that utilizes a systematic big-data approach (Rackham et al., Nature Genetics, 2016) developed over a 10-year period via a multi-national research collaboration. By deploying next-generation sequencing, gene regulatory and epigenetic network data, the platform enables the prediction of the transcription factors (or small molecules) and culture medium conditions required to produce any target cell type from any source cell type.

The platform can be used to enhance existing stem-cell forward reprogramming methods or can bypass development pathways all together effecting a direct transdifferentiation between a mature cell type to another mature cell type.

Mogrify is applying its proprietary and award-winning platform to engineer an evergreen and scalable source of cell types that exhibit efficacy and safety profiles necessary to transform the development of cell therapies for indications of high unmet clinical need in hematological, immunological, ophthalmological and other disease areas.

Uniquely positioned to address a cell therapy market estimated to be $35 billion USD by 2023, Mogrify is commercializing its technology via IP licensing, product development, and drug development. Based in Cambridge, UK, the Company has raised over $20 million USD funding from Ahren Innovation Capital, Parkwalk, 24Haymarket, Dr. Darrin M. Disley, OBE and the University of Bristol Enterprise Fund III.

Follow Mogrify on Twitter @Mogrify_UK and LinkedIn @Mogrify

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