CAR-T therapy is best known for cancer care — and outcomes that have seen life-changing results making headlines. But what’s next? All signs point to autoimmune disease as the target on the horizon. Senior Editor Amber Tong and a panel of experts will examine the promising early clinical data and break down challenges that lie ahead.
Dr. Chang joined Cabaletta in June 2019 as Chief Medical Officer. Previously, he was Senior Vice President and Head, Inflammation, Autoimmunity & Neuroscience, or IA&NS, Global Medicines Development at AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, where he oversaw development projects of both biologics and small molecules in a variety of indications and led the late-stage clinical development organization for IA&NS. Prior to AstraZeneca, Dr. Chang served in various positions at GlaxoSmithKline plc, including VP and Head, Immuno-Inflammation, Clinical Development. While at AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline, he provided leadership in driving the clinical development and registration of the only two products approved for systemic lupus erythematosus in the US in over 60 years. From 1997-2022, Dr. Chang was a faculty member in the Division of Rheumatology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his M.D. from New York University School of Medicine, his M.P.H. from Emory University, and his B.S. from Yale University. Dr. Chang completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at the New York Hospital—Cornell University Medical Center and his fellowship in Rheumatology at the Hospital for Special Surgery—Cornell University Medical Center. He is a Fellow of the American College of Rheumatology.
Jason Fontenot, Ph.D., serves as Sangamo’s Chief Scientific Officer. He oversees all platform and pipeline research activities – advancing the company’s proprietary genomic medicine technology as well as proprietary and partnered pipeline programs. Dr. Fontenot has an extensive background in genome engineering, cell therapy and drug development, having previously served as Chief Scientific Officer at Immusoft, Head of Exploratory Research at Juno Therapeutics, and for nearly a decade as a group leader in the immunology department at Biogen.
Dr. Fontenot has expertise in lymphocyte biology, cell and genetic engineering and immune-mediated disease. His seminal work on regulatory T cells and FOXP3 transformed the study of immune regulation and produced some of the most highly cited immunology publications of the last 20 years.
Dr. Fontenot conducted post-doctoral work at Rockefeller University in New York City. He received his Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Washington in Seattle.
James Chung, MD, PhD, is Chief Medical Officer at Kyverna Therapeutics. Dr. Chung brings extensive biopharmaceutical industry experience working across the entire drug development process focused on autoimmune diseases. He has dedicated a significant part of his career working in translational medicine and early development.
Dr. Chung joined Kyverna from Amgen where he most recently was Executive Medical Director, head of Inflammation and Neuroscience, Global Medical Organization, and Global Development Leader for Enbrel®. He joined Amgen in 2004 in Medical Sciences/Early Development advancing inflammation programs from first-in-human to proof-of-concept, eventually serving as the Early Development Inflammation Therapeutic Area Head leading a team of physician-scientists, biomarker scientists, and clinical study managers. In 2013, he transitioned to late-stage Global Development and then in 2015 to Amgen’s Global Medical Organization where he held numerous positions of increasing responsibility, including therapeutic area head for Inflammation, Nephrology, and Neuroscience, where he was responsible for the development and execution of medical strategies for a portfolio of marketed drugs and near-launch molecules. Prior to Amgen, Dr. Chung began his industry career as an Associate Director in Clinical Sciences at Pfizer where he served as the Early Clinical Leader for several early development programs in inflammation. His work is extensively published.
Prior to joining industry, Dr. Chung was Instructor of Medicine in the Division of Rheumatology at the University of Pennsylvania where he also completed his residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Rheumatology. He obtained his MD and PhD in Immunology at the University of Pennsylvania and BA in Biology at Harvard College.
Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Biochemistry at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, where he has worked since 2000. Before that, he was Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Radic received his B.S. in Genetics from the University of California in Davis and his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of California in Irvine. He trained as postdoctoral fellow at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Radic is author of over 90 peer-reviewed scientific publications, 25 reviews and 10 book chapters. He has received numerous honors and awards and is serving as Editor of scientific journals and as reviewer on government and foundation review panels. Dr. Radic has trained 7 PhD students and 5 postdoctoral fellows in his lab. His research has been funded by the Lupus Research Institute of New York, the National Institutes of Health, various other private foundations and biopharma companies.
Amber Tong is the senior editor at Endpoints News, where she reports on news and feature stories while keeping an eye on the overall voice and look of the site. Her coverage varies daily but as a Hong Kong native, she is particularly excited about biopharma trends in China. A graduate of Rice University, she has previously written for and edited the Rice Thresher, Houstonia Magazine, Governing Magazine and The Chautauquan Daily. Amber is based in Hong Kong.