GAITHERSBURG, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sensei Biotherapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing precision immuno-oncology therapies, today announced the appointment of Samuel Broder, M.D. to its Board of Directors. Dr. Broder is an accomplished leader in the oncology space with more than 30 years of medical oncology and research experience.

“We are fortunate to welcome Dr. Broder, a globally recognized leader in the biotechnology industry to our Board of Directors. His impressive career as a scientist, oncologist, immunologist, and medical researcher brings a wealth of experience to Sensei,” said Hossein Ghanbari, Ph.D., Chairman of the Board of Sensei Biotherapeutics.

“We look forward to benefiting from Dr. Broder’s experience both as a Board member and special adviser as we continue to advance our pipeline of cell therapy and cancer vaccine programs, targeting next generation targets such as ASPH, with our precision medicine approach,” said John Celebi, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sensei Biotherapeutics.

“I am delighted to join Sensei’s Board of Directors and look forward to working alongside this experienced management team to advance the company’s innovative pipeline,” said Dr. Broder. “I am excited to join at such an exciting and pivotal time in its development, as they are advancing their pioneering approach in the immuno-oncology space.”

Dr. Broder is the former Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the largest and most important Agency for cancer research, where he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1989. While at the NCI, he oversaw the development of numerous anti-cancer therapeutic agents, helped launch a number of large-scale clinical trials related to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer and inaugurated the highly successful SPORE Program. Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President and Health Sector Head at Intrexon Corporation. Dr. Broder spent his entire career in translational medicine and his laboratory interests have included antiretroviral therapy, the relationship between immunodeficiency disorders and cancer, the human genome, and the proteomics of cancer cells. In the mid-1980s, in response to the AIDS pandemic, he focused his attention on HIV-1/AIDS. His laboratory played a major role in developing the first 3 agents approved by FDA specifically to treat the AIDS virus, Retrovir® (AZT), Videx® (ddI), and HIVID® (ddC). After serving as the Director of the NCI from 1989-1995, Dr. Broder served as Senior Vice President, Research and Development and Chief Scientific Officer at IVAX Corporation. He then joined the Celera Corporation, as the Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer, and helped advance the human genome project, the elucidation of the 3 billion letters of code that make up human DNA. He has received numerous scientific awards related to his research in cancer and AIDS. He was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences in 1993.

About Sensei Biotherapeutics

Sensei Biotherapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing precision immuno-oncology therapies to transform the cancer treatment landscape. The company is using its proprietary drug discovery platform, called SPIRIT, to discover and develop both vaccines and T-cell therapies, including SNS-301, its clinical stage cancer vaccine, and SNS-723, its cell therapy program in preclinical development for solid tumors and hematological cancers. These programs target ASPH, a novel embryonic antigen. Sensei’s precision medicine approach in immuno-oncology includes the use of companion diagnostics to select patients who are most likely to respond to its tumor-specific antigen therapies. Sensei Biotherapeutics is located in Gaithersburg, MD. For more information, please visit www.senseibio.com.