Adaptimmune hires Piccina as CCO as it readies for first BLA

Cintia Piccina will become chief commercial officer of  Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:ADAP); the addition comes as the company is preparing to submit its first BLA for afamitresgene autoleucel (formerly ADP-A2M4) to treat solid tumors later this year. Piccina was head of commercial at 2seventy bio Inc. (NASDAQ:TSVT), and SVP commercial oncology and U.S. general manager at bluebird bio Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE), where she led the launch of the first cell therapy product in multiple myeloma, Abecma idecabtagene vicleucel. Before that, she was at Novartis AG (SIX:NOVN; NYSE:NVS) for 23 years, where her final role was VP of global oncology cell and gene strategy and program management office for Kymriah tisagenlecleucel and the CAR T pipeline. If afamitresgene autoleucel  is approved, Adaptimmune could be the first company to bring a MAGEA4-targeted TCR cell therapy to market.

Steven Rowe will be the next CSO at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, effective July 1. Rowe is the director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Gregory Fleming James Cystic Fibrosis Research Center and professor of pulmonary, allergy, and critical care medicine; pediatric pulmonology; and cell developmental and integrative physiology. ...