Obsidian Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company pioneering controllable cell and gene therapies, today announced the appointment of Robert Ross, M.D., to its Board of Directors. Dr. Ross currently serves as the Chief Medical Officer of Surface Oncology.
“Rob brings strong clinical development experience, specifically in oncology, which will be invaluable as we advance towards the clinic,” said Paul K. Wotton, Ph.D., Obsidian’s Chief Executive Officer. “Rob has successfully advanced multiple programs from IND to pivotal trials, as well as led collaborations with industry and academic partners. His experience in progressing novel and innovative therapies, including cell and gene therapies, from the bench to the bedside will expedite the development of the first cytoDRiVE-based programs into human clinical trials to our ultimate goal of treating cancer patients with controllable living medicines.”
Dr. Ross added, “Obsidian addresses a key unmet need in cell and gene therapy through the ability to regulate the biological activity of engineered cells, allowing the creation of highly effective, titratable and targeted immune-oncology therapies. I look forward to contributing to Obsidian’s growth and clinical progress.”
Dr. Ross serves as the Chief Medical Officer of Surface Oncology and oversees all clinical and regulatory operations and development efforts. He is responsible for advancing Surface Oncology’s programs into the clinic. Rob has extensive clinical development experience, most recently at bluebird bio where he led the clinical development of genetically modified cellular therapies in beta thalassemia and sickle cell disease. Rob was also the head of oncology at bluebird bio, building a multifaceted oncology program, led by an anti-BCMA chimeric antigen T cell therapy in collaboration with Celgene. Previously, he worked at Genentech and Infinity Pharmaceuticals on both small molecule and antibody programs from Phase I through pivotal trials, and was a faculty member at the Dana Farber Cancer Center, treating patients with genitourinary malignancies. Rob earned his bachelor’s degree from Stanford University, his master’s degree from Harvard Medical School and his medical degree from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Rob did his residency in internal medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and his fellowship in hematology/oncology at the combined program at the Dana Farber/Massachusetts General Hospital.
About Obsidian Therapeutics
Obsidian Therapeutics, Inc. is a biotechnology company pioneering controllable cell and gene therapies to deliver transformative outcomes for patients with intractable diseases. Obsidian’s proprietary cytoDRiVE™ platform provides, for the first time, a technology to develop a new generation of cell and gene therapies in which the level and timing of protein activity are fully controlled in a dose-dependent platform comprises a therapeutic protein of interest fused to a drug-responsive domain (DRD). In the absence of the small molecule drug, the DRD-tagged protein is degraded before it becomes active. In contrast, when the small molecule drug is present, the DRD-tagged protein is stabilized and active, permitting precise control of the timing and level of protein expression. The platform can be applied to design controllable intracellular, membrane and secreted proteins for cell and gene therapies as well as other applications. The Company is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. For more information, please visit www.obsidiantx.com.
