Exhibit 99.1
Autolus Therapeutics announces the appointment of Dr. William D. Young as a Non-Executive Director
LONDON, November 15, 2021 — Autolus Therapeutics plc (Nasdaq: AUTL), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation programmed T cell therapies, today announced that Dr. William D. Young has been appointed as a non-executive director to its board of directors, effective immediately. The appointment is pursuant to the recently announced investment from Blackstone Life Sciences. Dr. Young will serve as a Class III director, with an initial term expiring at Autolus’ 2024 annual general meeting. Dr. Young brings to Autolus more than 50 years of experience in the life science industry, most notably prior service as Chief Operating Officer of Genentech and Chairman of the Board of Biogen.
Prior to his current role as senior advisor to Blackstone Life Sciences, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of Monogram Biosciences, which was acquired by Laboratory Corporation of America in 2009. Before Monogram, Dr. Young served as Chief Operating Officer of Genentech, the culmination of a Genentech career spanning almost 20 years, and he started his career at Eli Lilly & Company. Dr. Young also currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Nanostring Technologies (Chairman), Theravance Biopharma and Praxis Precision Medicine. He has also served on a number of other biotech boards such as BioMarin Pharmaceutical and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Young holds a Bachelor of Chemistry degree from Purdue University, a Doctorate in Engineering from Purdue University, and an MBA from Indiana University. Dr. Young was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for his contributions to biotechnology.
“Together with the entire board and management team, I am pleased to welcome Bill to our Board. Bill brings a wealth of commercial and operational experience to Autolus at a time when we are shaping the product profile and the commercial strategy of obe-cel. He is one of the pioneers of the biotechnology industry,” said Dr. Christian Itin, Chief Executive Officer of Autolus.
“I am delighted to join the board of Autolus at such a pivotal time in the Company’s development,” said Bill Young. “Obe-cel has the potential to transform the outlook for adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, as well as many other cancers. I look forward to driving value for patients, stakeholders and shareholders alike.”
About Autolus Therapeutics plc
Autolus is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation, programmed T cell therapies for the treatment of cancer. Using a broad suite of proprietary and modular T cell programming technologies, the company is engineering precisely targeted, controlled and highly active T cell therapies that are designed to better recognize cancer cells, break down their defense mechanisms and eliminate these cells. Autolus has a pipeline of product candidates in development for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumors. For more information please visit www.autolus.com.
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