CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTLA) has named David Lebwohl, M.D., as its new executive vice president and chief medical officer. Dr. Lebwohl brings decades of biopharmaceutial leadership and drug development experience, and joins Intellia to lead its clinical development and regulatory organizations.
“Dr. Lebwohl joins Intellia during an exciting time for the company, as we continue to rapidly progess our first systemic CRISPR/Cas9-based therapy to the clinic. David’s vast experience in rare diseases, engineered cell therapy and clinical development complement our R&D capabilities and leadership team strength,” said Intellia President and Chief Executive Officer John Leonard, M.D. “He has been at the helm of premier development organizations that launched breakthrough oncology therapies to patients, most notably the recent CAR-T therapy, Kymriah®, and the multi-indication blockbuster, Afinitor®. Under his leadership, we look forward to the impact he can make in delivering Intellia’s CRISPR/Cas9-based treatments to patients.”
Dr. Lebwohl’s Professional and Academic Credentials
Dr. Lebwohl’s career spans three decades in the biopharmaceutical industry, successfully bringing novel medicines through all phases of clinical trials and global regulatory approvals. During his career, he has overseen multiple full-scale development programs with more than 200 clinical studies across myriad indications. He joins Intellia from Semma Therapeutics, Inc., where he was chief medical officer and led the company’s regenerative medicine efforts using stem-cell-derived pancreatic islets to cure type I diabetes starting in November 2018. Semma was acquired by Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., in October 2019. Prior to his role at Semma, Dr. Lebwohl held numerous senior-level drug development leadership positions at the global healthcare company, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Novartis), where most recently he was senior vice president and franchise global program head, CAR-T, Promacta and SEG101 Global Program Teams, responsible for the development of the breakthrough therapy Kymriah® (tisagenlecleucel), approved for the treatment of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Dr. Lebwohl also was responsible for numerous other Novartis oncology drug development programs, and led the company’s Cell and Gene Therapies Unit. Under his leadership, the blockbuster drug, Afinitor® (everolimus), was approved for five indications including metastatic breast, kidney, brain and lung cancers. Prior to working at Novartis, Dr. Lebwohl spent five years at Bristol Myers Squibb, Inc., where he worked in the Oncology Clinical Development group at the company’s Pharmaceutical Research Institute. He is a well-recognized medical oncologist, with certifications in hematology and internal medicine.
Dr. Lebwohl received an undergraduate degree in Biochemical Sciences from Harvard College, and an M.D. from the Yale University School of Medicine. He completed his fellowship training at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and his residency in Internal Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications.
“I am thrilled to join Intellia’s leadership team as we propel the first systemic CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing treatment to the clinic this year,” said Dr. Lebwohl. “I am passionate about working on the next generation of treatments, like genome editing therapies, that are both game-changing for medical practice and can address the unmet needs of patients. I look forward to leading the Development organization and building on the company’s clinical capabilities.”
About Intellia Therapeutics
Intellia Therapeutics is a leading genome editing company focused on developing proprietary, curative therapeutics using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Intellia believes the CRISPR/Cas9 technology has the potential to transform medicine by permanently editing disease-associated genes in the human body with a single treatment course, and through improved cell therapies that can treat cancer and immunological diseases, or can replace patients’ diseased cells. The combination of deep scientific, technical and clinical development experience, along with its leading intellectual property portfolio, puts Intellia in a unique position to unlock broad therapeutic applications of the CRISPR/Cas9 technology and create a new class of therapeutic products. Learn more about Intellia Therapeutics and CRISPR/Cas9 at intelliatx.com and follow us on Twitter @intelliatweets.
