PRESS RELEASE
20th May 2019
Mogrify strengthens team and relocates to the Bio-Innovation Centre, TusPark Cambridge
Mogrify appoints 15 new staff including, Dr Karin Schmitt as Chief Business Officer and Joe Foster as Chief Operating Officer
Cambridge, UK, 20th May 2019: Mogrify Ltd (Mogrify®), a UK company aiming to transform the future development of cell therapies, today announced that it has moved to the Bio-Innovation Centre at the Cambridge Science Park, following the appointment of 15 new staff to its scientific and management teams including, Dr. Karin Schmitt as Chief Business Officer and Joe Foster as Chief Operating Officer. These new hires and facilities will aid Mogrify in building a scalable infrastructure to generate IP around novel cell conversion to power the development and manufacture of new cell therapies across multiple therapeutic areas.
Mogrify is located at TusPark’s Cambridge Bio-Innovation Centre featuring facilities for biotech research and health-tech innovation. The Bio-Innovation Centre is the first of its kind to be built at the Cambridge Science Park and is fitted with laboratories for multiple occupiers in the life sciences sector. Mogrify is its anchor tenant and occupies 12,000 sq. ft of laboratory and office space.
The new team members include cell scientists, bioinformaticians and executives, bringing the Company’s headcount currently to 20.
Dr. Karin Schmitt will lead Mogrify’s commercial operations and its R&D function in her role as Chief Business Officer. She has over 25 years’ experience with a sustained track record of successful leadership roles within the life sciences, biotech and therapeutic industries at Exelixis, Inc., Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Horizon Discovery Group plc and PredictImmune Ltd. Karin has brought over 20 innovative products to market internationally, across a wide scientific spectrum, with recent emphasis on clinical products and has additional experience in legal, commercial and regulatory pathways. Karin obtained her PhD in Molecular Biology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, followed by three years of post-doctoral research in genetics at the University of Cambridge.
Joe Foster’s role as Chief Operating Officer will consist of managing the corporate operations as well as driving Mogrify’s IP management function. He began his career at Horizon Discovery Group plc working within the corporate development team gaining experience in business planning, licensing, technology evaluation and M&A analysis, before becoming Dr. Jonathan Milner’s (Co-founder of Abcam plc) Portfolio Manager where he built and managed a complex portfolio of more than 40 early-stage life science companies. Joe holds a degree in Molecular & Cellular Biology from the University of Bath and an MPhil in Business Management from the University of Cambridge.
Dr. Darrin M. Disley, OBE, CEO, Mogrify, said: “We are growing a world-class scientific and executive team that will enable Mogrify to become a global leader in the development of novel cell conversion IP that underpins the development of lifesaving cell therapies. The new Bio-Innovation Centre at the Cambridge Science Park offers outstanding facilities, service and networks to its tenants and we’re thrilled to be joining them at this exciting time.”
Kevin Lin, President, TusPark UK, said: “Mogrify’s direct cellular conversion technology has the potential to transform cell therapy and we’re delighted to have their expert team join us at our new stateof-the-art research facilities at the center of the Cambridge cluster.”
For further information about Mogrify’s team, please visit: our people.
Notes to Editors
Dr. Karin Schmitt
Chief Business Officer Mogrify
Joe Foster
Chief Operating Officer Mogrify
Mogrify Leadership Team
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For further information please contact:
Mogrify
Darrin M Disley, PhD, OBE
Email: [email protected]
Zyme Communications
Lorna Cuddon
Tel: +44 (0)7811 996 942
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About Mogrify www.mogrify.co.uk
Mogrify has developed a proprietary direct cellular conversion technology, which makes it possible to transform (transmogrify) any mature human cell type into any other without going through a pluripotent stem cell- or progenitor cell-state.
The platform takes a systematic big-data approach to identify, from next-generation sequencing and
gene-regulatory networks, the transcription factors (in vitro) or small molecules (in vivo), needed to convert a cell. By bypassing the stem cell-stage of cell transformation, Mogrify simultaneously addresses challenges associated with efficacy, safety and scalability.
Mogrify is applying its patented technology to generate IP and cell types that will power the development and manufacture of new cell therapies across every therapeutic area.
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 $3.7 million USD seed funding from Ahren Innovation Capital, 24Haymarket and Dr Darrin M Disley, OBE.
Follow Mogrify on Twitter @Mogrify_UK and LinkedIn @Mogrify
About TusPark www.tuspark.co.uk
TusPark is a leading global ecosystem in technology and service. TusPark manages over 300 incubators, science parks, and science cities worldwide, and invests in 7 sectors including life sciences. It has incubated over 6,000 enterprises and 36 of these are successful listed. Tuspark has assets under management of more than £20 billion and over 800 portfolios including 9 publicly listed companies.
In the UK, TusPark has launched two science parks – TusPark Cambridge and TusPark Newcastle. Tuspark Cambridge is a landmark £200 million joint venture with Trinity College, University of Cambridge, which includes 350,000 sq. ft of office/lab space that is developed over five new buildings, including the aforementioned state-of-the-art Bio-Innovation Centre. Together with a few other facilities to be built in the Cambridge Science Park, the Bio-Innovation Centre is expected to provide space, business support and global opportunities for life science start-ups and scale-ups.
In addition to the science parks, TusPark UK has also made equity investments into a few Cambridge life science start-ups as well as the Cambridge Innovation Capital. It partnered with Innovate UK on helping British start-ups soft-land and accelerate in China and will continue to work with UK and Chinese governments, businesses, associations, universities, and institutions on cross-border collaborations.
Follow TusPark on Twitter @TusparkUK and LinkedIn @TusPark UK