Lyell Immunopharma Announces the Appointment of Rahsaan Thompson as Chief Legal Officer

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Sept. 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lyell Immunopharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: LYEL), a clinical‑stage T-cell reprogramming company dedicated to developing curative cell therapies for patients with solid tumors, announced that Rahsaan W. Thompson has joined the executive management team as chief legal officer. A biopharmaceutical industry veteran, Mr. Thompson has more than 20 years of experience with development stage and commercial companies.

“Rahsaan’s experience and expertise across corporate law and intellectual property make him an ideal fit for Lyell as we advance clinical development of multiple products in our pipeline targeting solid tumor cancers,” said Liz Homans, chief executive officer of Lyell. “We are delighted to welcome him to the team.”

“Lyell’s commitment to advancing innovative science is truly inspiring. I am excited to join the team and contribute to the ambitious mission of developing curative cell therapies for patients with limited treatment options,” said Mr. Thompson.

Before joining Lyell, Mr. Thompson was executive vice president and general counsel at Gritstone bio, where he was responsible for all legal aspects of corporate strategy, intellectual property, transactions, compliance and litigation matters. Mr. Thompson was also general counsel for Opiant Pharmaceuticals. Previously, as the vice president of law for Actelion Pharmaceuticals, he led the Actelion law department in San Francisco. Before joining Actelion, he worked for the law firm of Quarles & Brady in Chicago. Mr. Thompson was the associate general counsel at Abraxis Bioscience before its acquisition by Celgene. Mr. Thompson also served as corporate counsel at McKesson Corporation. He began his career as an assistant district attorney in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office. Mr. Thompson obtained his bachelor’s degree from Southern Methodist University and his law degree from Hofstra University. He has served on various non-profit boards and presently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Oakland Museum of California.

About Lyell Immunopharma, Inc.

Lyell is a clinical-stage T-cell reprogramming company dedicated to developing curative cell therapies for patients with solid tumors. The Company is advancing a pipeline of therapies designed to address what it believes are the primary barriers that limit consistent, reliable and curative responses to adoptive T-cell therapy: T-cell exhaustion and lack of durable stemness, which includes the ability to proliferate, persist and self-renew, as well as generate differentiated effector cell progenies to provide durable anti-tumor functionality. Lyell is applying its proprietary ex vivo genetic and epigenetic reprogramming technology platforms, Gen-R™ and Epi-R™, to address these barriers in order to develop new medicines with improved, durable and potentially curative clinical outcomes. Lyell is based in South San Francisco, California and Seattle and Bothell, Washington. To learn more, please visit .

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements expressed or implied in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: Lyell’s plan to advance clinical development of multiple products targeting solid tumor cancers; Lyell’s mission of developing curative cell therapies for patients with limited treatment options; the therapeutic potential of Lyell’s product candidates targeting solid tumor cancers; the anticipated benefits of Mr. Thompson’s joining the executive management team; and other statements that are not historical fact. These statements are based on Lyell’s current plans, objectives, estimates, expectations and intentions, are not guarantees of future performance and inherently involve significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties, which include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties related to: the effects of the evolving COVID-19 pandemic; geopolitical instability; Lyell’s ability to submit planned INDs or initiate and execute clinical trials on the anticipated timelines, if at all; Lyell’s ability to manufacture and supply its product candidates for its clinical trials; the preclinical profiles of Lyell’s product candidates not translating in clinical trials; the potential for results from clinical trials to differ from preclinical, early clinical, preliminary or expected results; significant adverse events, toxicities or other undesirable side effects associated with Lyell’s product candidates; the significant uncertainty associated with Lyell’s product candidates ever receiving any regulatory approvals; Lyell’s ability to obtain, maintain or protect intellectual property rights related to its product candidates; implementation of Lyell’s strategic plans for its business and product candidates; Lyell’s reliance on GSK to advance the development of its NY-ESO-1 programs; the sufficiency of Lyell’s capital resources and need for additional capital to achieve its goals; and other risks, including those described under the heading “Risk Factors” in Lyell’s most recently filed periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q and in Lyell’s future reports to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of this date, and Lyell undertakes no duty to update such information except as required under applicable law.

Contact:

Ellen Rose

Senior Vice President, Communications and Investor Relations