Northwest Biotherapeutics (OTCQB: NWBO), a biotechnology company developing DCVax personalized immune therapies for solid tumor cancers, announced today that it has appointed Mr. Pat Sarma to its Board of Directors effective March 18, 2024.
Mr. Sarma will initially complete the remainder of Mr. Jerry Jasinowski’s term as an independent director, following Mr. Jasinowski’s retirement due to health reasons as previously reported. Mr. Sarma will serve as the Chairman of the Audit Committee and member of the Compensation and Conflicts Committees.
Mr. Sarma is a longtime shareholder of NWBio. In the joining the Board, he brings decades of experience as a business executive and as a venture capital investor. One of the companies he founded and built was American Megatrends Inc. (AMI), which became a major player in hardware, software and firmware components of PC-based systems. The company was known for developing the AMIBIOS firmware program for IBM-PC compatibility. The BIOS (Basic Input Output System) is the heart of PC-compatibility and all application programs access the BIOS in reading from or writing to peripheral units such as drives, keyboards, mouse, etc.
AMI was also known for developing the AMI RAID Controller and Management software that was the fastest performer in the industry during the 1990’s and early 2000’s. RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) technology allows a program to write data in several hard drives in an identical fashion so that if one pathway fails the system can be brought back with minimal outage.
Mr. Sarma’s interests in AMI were acquired, and thereafter he became a venture capital investor in the private equity markets. He was an owner for a number of years of the N.J. Devils team in the National Hockey League, and has invested in a diverse range of industries including medical and environmental companies. Mr. Sarma has been an investor in NWBio for more than a decade.
Mr. Sarma received a Master’s Degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from Georgia Tech and a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Madras.
“We are delighted to have Mr. Sarma join the NWBio Board, and believe that his decades of business and investing experience will be of great value to the Company” commented Linda Powers, CEO of NWBio. “Further, we believe that Mr. Sarma’s thorough knowledge of NWBio, his appreciation of the potential of our DCVax technologies, and his knowledge about the many challenges that NWBio has faced and overcome will enable him to play a valuable role on our Board.”
Mr. Sarma commented, “I am honored to be asked to join the Board of NWBio at this exciting and pivotal time in the Company’s history. This is one of the most significant opportunities I have encountered in my career to help make a positive difference to so many people.”
About Northwest Biotherapeutics
Northwest Biotherapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on developing personalized immunotherapy products that are designed to treat cancers more effectively than current treatments, without toxicities of the kind associated with chemotherapies, and on a cost-effective basis. The Company has a broad platform technology for DCVax® dendritic cell-based vaccines. The Company’s lead program involves DCVax®-L treatment for glioblastoma (GBM). GBM is the most aggressive and lethal form of primary brain cancer, and is an “orphan disease.” The Company has completed a 331-patient Phase III trial of DCVax-L for GBM, presented the results in scientific meetings, published the results in JAMA Oncology and submitted a MAA for commercial approval in the UK. The Company has also developed DCVax®-Direct for inoperable solid tumor cancers. It has completed a 40-patient Phase I trial and, as resources permit, plans to pursue Phase II trials. The Company previously conducted a Phase I/II trial with DCVax-L for advanced ovarian cancer together with the University of Pennsylvania.
