The Leader in RNA Cell Therapies

Cartesian’s vision is to cure disease by RNA engineering any cell, to deliver to any tissue, any combination of therapies. To realize its vision, Cartesian uses the RNA Armory®, its proprietary cell therapy platform, to engineer combinations of RNA therapies into cells, and targets these cells precisely to the site of disease. The company is currently conducting multiple clinical trials for patients with autoimmune, oncologic and respiratory disorders.

Cartesian operates its wholly-owned, state-of-the-art GMP manufacturing facility in Gaithersburg, MD. Cartesian’s commanding IP position benefits in part from a broad, exclusive patent license from the National Cancer Institute.

Management Team

Cartesian Michael Singer
Emily English, PhD Senior Director, Quality

Emily English, PhD
Senior Director, Quality

Andy Stewart, PhD Senior Director, Research

Andy Stewart, PhD
Senior Director, Research

Albina Benson, PhD Senior Director, Manufacturing

Albina Benson, PhD
Senior Director, Manufacturing

Adam Chowdhury, MD Senior Director, Clinical Operations

Adam Chowdhury, MD
Senior Director, Clinical Operations

Yi Zhang, PhD Senior Director, Technology
Yi Zhang, PhD
Senior Director, Technology

Executive Advisors

Mr. Ted Henderson, a member of the Board of Directors at Cartesian, has served as a Managing Director at Schooner Capital since 2004. He currently serves as a director at a number of healthcare portfolio companies, including 4G Clinical, Millstone Medical Outsourcing, and SRS Medical. He previously led Schooner’s investment in Mimetogen Pharmaceuticals (sold to Allergan), and served as a director at Topokine Therapeutics (sold to Allergan) and Best Doctors (sold to a private equity firm). Ted is a cum laude graduate of Dartmouth College with an MBA from Harvard Business School.

As the former Senior Vice President, Pfizer Inc and President, Pfizer Global Research and Development, Dr. LaMattina oversaw the drug discovery and development efforts of over 12,000 colleagues in the United States, Europe and Asia. Dr. LaMattina is a 30 year veteran of Pifzer Inc, having joined as a medicinal chemist in 1977. He is currently a Senior Partner at PureTech Health.

As the former Director of the NCI at the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Niederhuber oversaw the cancer research efforts of more than 5,000 NCI employees and managed a budget of over 5 billion dollars. Dr. Niederhuber was most recently Executive Vice President and CEO of the Inova Translational Medicine Institute, where he directed highly sophisticated genomic analyses with the goal of delivering excellence in personalized healthcare, research and education. Dr. Niederhuber is an internationally recognized oncologic surgeon who has given over 350 professional presentations, 250 peer-reviewed articles, and edited or co-edited 9 books.

Clinical Advisors

Dr. Anderson is an internationally recognized researcher on multiple myeloma, the focus of his laboratory and clinical research studies over the last three decades. He has developed laboratory and animal models of the tumor in its microenvironment which have allowed for both identification of novel targets and validation of novel targeted therapies, and has then rapidly translated these studies to clinical trials culminating in FDA approval of novel targeted therapies. His paradigm for identifying and validating targets in the tumor cell and its milieu has transformed myeloma therapy and markedly improved patient outcome. He is a recipient of many scientific and humanitarian awards including: the International Myeloma Workshop Waldenstrom’s Award; the International Myeloma Foundation Robert A. Kyle Lifetime Achievement Award; the American Association for Cancer Research Joseph H. Burchenal Award; and the American Cancer Society Medal of Honor in Science. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, served as President of the International Myeloma Society, and is President-elect of the American Society of Hematology. Dr. Anderson is the Kraft Family Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School as well as Director of the Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center and Lebow Institute for Myeloma Therapeutics at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He is a Doris Duke Distinguished Clinical Research Scientist and American Cancer Society Clinical Research Professor.

Dr. Landgren is one of the world leaders in the field of early treatment strategies and molecular- and cell-based monitoring of minimal residual disease (MRD) detection in multiple myeloma and its precursor states. As Chief of the Myeloma program at Chief of Myeloma Program at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami, Dr. Landgren leads the Experimental Therapeutics Program to discover new treatment paradigms for multiple myeloma integrating modern therapy and novel MRD assays. Dr. Landgren has designed and led the definitive study showing that all multiple myeloma patients are preceded by a precursor stage. As part of his ongoing research program, he is studying molecular mechanisms underlying the trajectory from precursor to full-blown multiple myeloma with the goal to develop treatment strategies aiming to delay, prevent, and ultimately define a cure for multiple myeloma. Dr. Landgren has published over 250 peer-reviewed publications and he is a frequently invited speaker at national and international hematology conferences. He serves on several research committees and editorial boards for scientific journals.

Ivan Borrello is an internationally recognized expert on immunotherapy for multiple myeloma. His group was the first to describe the use of marrow infiltrating lymphocytes (MILs) as a source of highly tumor specific T cells for adoptive T cell therapy. This work has led to several clinical trials in which his group showed the ability of activated MILs to impart measurable tumor specific immunity. His group is also exploring various approaches to enhance the use MILs in a variety of different settings and in diseases other than myeloma. Dr. Borrello is an Associate Professor at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins in the divisions of Tumor Immunology and Hematologic Malignancies. He received his MD degree from the Medical College of Virginia. Completed his Residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Chicago and his Fellowship in Oncology at Johns Hopkins where he then has continued as a faculty member. He also serves as the medical director of the Cell Therapy Lab.

Dr. Libby is a cardiovascular specialist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, and holds the Mallinckrodt Professorship of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He served as Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine at BWH from 1998 – 2014. His areas of clinical expertise include general and preventive cardiology. His current major research focus is the role of inflammation in vascular diseases such as atherosclerosis. Dr. Libby has a particular devotion to translate his basic laboratory studies to pilot and then large-scale clinical cardiovascular outcome trials. He instigated and helped to lead the large scale Canakinumab Anti-Inflammatory Thrombosis Outcomes Trial (CANTOS) that provided clinical validation of the role of inflammation in atherosclerosis.  Dr. Libby has received numerous awards and recognitions for his research accomplishments, including the Distinguished Scientist Award for Basic Research, American College of Cardiology, the Gold Medal of the European Society of Cardiology and the Basic Research Prize of the American Heart Association, the Anitschkow Prize in Atherosclerosis Research of the European Atherosclerosis Society, and the Special Award of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology.

Dr. Mozaffar is a Professor of Neurology and Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of California – Irvine, where he is also the Director of the Division of Neuromuscular Disorders and Associate Director for the Center for Translational Sciences Award (CTSA).  Dr. Mozaffar is the Principal Investigator for UCI-NEXT, the NeuroNEXT award to the University of California, Irvine, one of 25 such NeuroNEXT sites funded by the NINDS/NIH. He is also the Lead Investigator for a multicenter NIH/NIAMS funded Natural History Study in sIBM (INSPIRE-IBM), which started April 2021.  Dr. Mozaffar has been at UC Irvine since 2000 where he has built an internationally recognized clinical and research program in Neuromuscular Disorders.  He is actively involved in clinical and translational research in Neuromuscular Disorders, including currently serving as Principal Site Investigator on over a dozen clinical trials in myasthenia gravis, rare and ultra-rare myopathies and in immune myopathies. He has co-authored over 190 peer-reviewed publications and has authored or co-authored over a dozen book chapters and invited reviews.

Dr. Levy is the Parker B. Francis Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Chief of the Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Division at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Levy’s Airway Inflammation and Resolution “AIR” laboratory aims to identify new pathways to resolve pulmonary inflammation, infection or injury by understanding the roles of naturally-derived, specialized pro-resolving mediators in health, and then translating these findings to the pathobiology of important lung diseases, including ARDS.  His work has helped lead to more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, over 10 patents awarded or pending, and continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health since 1993.  He is an active participant in NIH grant review study sections.  He is an elected member of the ASCI, AAP and Interurban Clinical Club. He is active in the American Thoracic Society and has served in several leadership roles for the ATS, including as Chair of the Publication Policy Committee and a member of the Board of Directors.

Dr. Matthay is a Professor of Medicine and Anesthesia at the University of California at San Francisco and a Senior Associate at the Cardiovascular Research Institute. He is Associate Director of Critical Care Medicine. He received his AB from Harvard University and his MD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He received an American Thoracic Society award for Scientific Achievement in 2002 and the UCSF Award for Outstanding Clinical Research in 2006, as well as the Lifetime Achievement Award in Mentoring at UCSF in 2013. He is a member of the American Association of Physicians. Dr. Matthay’s research has focused on the pathogenesis and resolution of pulmonary edema and acute lung injury and the clinical counterpart, the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). His recent research has also focused on the biology and potential clinical use of allogeneic bone marrow derived mesenchymal stromal (stem) cells for ARDS. He has led major clinical trials in ARDS and Sepsis and COVID-19 over the last 25 years.

Dr. Wilkes is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and has served as researcher, teacher, administrator, mentor and executive. From 2015 to 2021, he served as Dean and James Carroll Flippin Professor of Medical Science at the University of Virginia School of Medicine.  Currently, he is Dean Emeritus at the UVA School of Medicine.  Dr. Wilkes has co-authored more than 100 research papers and holds six U.S. patents. He is a successful entrepreneur who is founder and Chief Scientific Officer of ImmuneWorks, Inc., a biotech company which develops novel treatments for immune-mediated lung disease. He is also a member of the Board of Directors for Baxter International, and Syneos Health.  Dr. Wilkes is National Director of the Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the nation’s eminent program that develops careers of underrepresented in medicine physician scientists, dentist scientists, and nurse scientists. He has served on several advisory boards and committees of the National Institute of Health, and has received numerous awards for diversity and inclusion.

Culture

Cartesian has a unique culture that sets us apart from other biotech companies. Here are some fun facts about us:

Where are we from?

Cartesian - where are you from

What are our hobbies?

cartesian - what are your hobbies

Early bird or a night owl?

Sweet foods, savory foods, or both?

Birth order

Careers

Cartesian is expanding its world-class team of scientists dedicated to curing disease through developing cutting-edge cell therapies. Our highly integrated approach is a rare find in biotech; it means that discovery, cGMP manufacturing, and clinical operations all happen under one roof. Team members learn and grow through exposure to an immersive experience. A sense of family stems from close, cross-functional, and continuous conversation with highly committed colleagues. The result is fast-paced innovation, leading to next-generation therapies for our patients.

We are proud members of the fast-growing Gaithersburg biotech community. Please contact us at info@cartesiantx.com if you share our passion for developing the next-generation of cell therapies.

Headquarters

704 Quince Orchard Rd
Gaithersburg, MD
info@cartesiantx.com

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