Santa Monica, Calif., October 16, 2024 – Kite has appointed Gallia Levy, MD, PhD, as Global Head of Clinical Development and Laura Alquist as Global Head of Technical Operations.
“We’re very pleased to welcome Gallia and Laura to our leadership team as Kite prepares for the next phase of growth,” said Cindy Perettie, Executive Vice President, Kite. “As the global cell therapy leader, Kite is poised to drive the next wave of cell therapy innovation so that more patients can benefit from the curative potential of CAR T. With Gallia leading our Clinical Development efforts and Laura leading Technical Operations, we’re confident we will realize our long-term ambitions and continue to deliver for the patients who are counting on us.”
Dr. Levy is board certified in hematology and brings 15 years of experience in Clinical Development to Kite. She most recently served as the Chief Medical and Product Strategy Officer at Spark Therapeutics, a part of the Roche Group, where, as a member of the Corporate Management Team, she led the global development and product strategy for Spark’s portfolio of genetic therapies. Prior to joining Spark, Gallia was Vice President and Global Head of the Rare Blood Disorders Franchise in Product Development at Roche/Genentech, where she was responsible for the global clinical development of treatments for hemophilia A and other rare blood disorders.
Laura Alquist, formerly Global Head of Manufacturing, Kite, has been appointed Global Head of Technical Operations, following Chris McDonald’s retirement at the end of this year. Laura has been with Kite since 2016, leading the efforts to scale the company’s cell therapy operations and build the largest, dedicated in-house cell therapy manufacturing network in the world. She has more than 25 years of experience in all aspects of Technical Operations, including Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality and Information Systems. Under Laura’s leadership, Kite’s manufacturing team has improved our industry-leading track record for reliability and speed.
For more information on Kite, please visit the company’s website at www.kitepharma.com.
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