Gaithersburg, MD—March 28, 2023 – Cartesian Therapeutics, a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company pioneering RNA cell therapy for autoimmune diseases and cancer, today announced the appointment of five internationally recognized experts in autoimmune diseases. Cartesian’s appointments include distinguished physicians and scientists as leaders in clinical trials and medicine.
“Cartesian is proud to have these prestigious, multidisciplinary advisors committed to treating other autoimmune diseases,” said Miloš Miljković, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Cartesian Therapeutics. “Their perspectives will provide the utmost value to the continued advancement of our clinical pipeline.”
The new Senior Advisors are as follows:
Michael Benatar, MD, PhD is a Professor of Neurology and of Public Health Sciences, Chief of Neuromuscular Division, and Vice Chair for Clinical and Translational Research in the Department of Neurology at the University of Miami School of Medicine. He leads an active clinical and translational research program focused on biomarker and therapy development for ALS. Dr. Benatar is a thought-leader in the myasthenia gravis community, having designed, led, and participated in many clinical trials. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles and multiple books.
James F. Howard Jr., MD is Professor of Neurology, Medicine and Allied Health and the prior Chief of the Neuromuscular Disorders section at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill School of Medicine. A practicing neurologist for over 43 years and an expert on myasthenia gravis and electromyography, Dr. Howard currently directs the Myasthenia Gravis Clinical Trials and Translational Research Unit at UNC.
Susan Manzi, MD, MPH is Professor of Medicine and Chair of the Medicine Institute at Allegheny Health Network, and the Immediate Past Chair of the Board at the Lupus Foundation of America, where she serves as Medical Director. Dr. Manzi is internationally recognized as a pioneer in the investigation of premature cardiovascular disease in systemic lupus erythematosus and in the discovery of biomarkers for lupus diagnosis, monitoring and stratification.
Carolina Barnett-Tapia, MD, PhD is Associate Professor of Neurology and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. Her research is focused on patient-centered outcomes research in neuromuscular disorders, aiming to incorporate the patients’ views and preferences into clinical trials and practice.
Tuan Vu, MD is a Professor of Neurology at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine and the Division Director for Neuromuscular Medicine and EMG. He has authored or co-authored more than 60 peer-reviewed publications on neuromuscular diseases and has been the Principal or Co-Investigator on more than 90 NIH and industry-sponsored grants and clinical trials.
About Cartesian Therapeutics
Cartesian is pioneering RNA cell therapies for autoimmune diseases and cancer. The company’s lead asset, Descartes-08, is a first-in-class, RNA-engineered chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (rCAR-T) in Phase 2b clinical development for patients with generalized myasthenia gravis. Cartesian operates a wholly owned, state-of-the-art cGMP manufacturing facility in Gaithersburg, MD. For more information visit www.cartesiantherapeutics.com.