SmartCella Holding AB announces that Dr Ricardo Baptista has been appointed Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Head of Procella. Ricardo is an experienced Biochemical Engineer with almost 20-years of global experience in the medical biotechnology industry. He has a significant track record of leading technical teams at key cell and gene therapy companies, globally. Ricardo will be a member of SmartCella’s Executive Management Team and be based in Stockholm head office.
SmartCella is an innovative biotechnology company developing stem cell and RNA-based therapies in combination with novel delivery devices such as the FDA-cleared Extroducer. With Ricardo Baptista onboard, SmartCella takes the next step on its growth and development journey by further strengthening its scientific competencies. With critical infrastructure and capabilities in place, a top talented team as well as a substantial pipeline of projects, SmartCella is well positioned to create value for both shareholders and patients in need.
Niklas Prager, CEO of SmartCella, says: “The appointment of Ricardo as CTO and Head of Procella is yet another important milestone for us as a group, and I am thrilled to continue to strengthen the team with talent of Ricardo’s caliber. His extensive experience in the cell and gene therapy field will be instrumental to our strategic framework to advance our targeted cell-based therapies into the clinic. His entrepreneurial mindset will ensure our path to commercialization and will add true value when it comes to building out our pipeline. Ricardo is a valued leader, which is a crucial skill as we nurture and cultivate our culture across the SmartCella family”.
Ricardo Baptista, CTO of SmartCella and Head of Procella, comments: “I was attracted by SmartCella thanks to its unique blend of cutting-edge technologies to develop and deliver novel therapies for patients. Aligned with the broader field of advanced therapies, SmartCella champions interdisciplinary approaches and a culture of innovation. As we prepare for clinical trials, I am excited to help build out capabilities across the technical, quality, and manufacturing teams, and define the strategic roadmaps to derisk the development journey by having the commercial product in mind from the start. The dedication and passion across the teams are truly inspiring and foster a culture of scientific and technical creativity. I am confident that SmartCella will soon emerge as one of the foremost Swedish, and global, leaders in the health biotech space”.
Ricardo has a PhD in Biochemical Engineering and brings almost 20 years’ experience in cell therapy process development and CMC. He has led teams designing processing and analytical platforms for a wide range of therapeutic modalities. His combination of engineering and process expertise have underpinned the development of scalable cell therapy manufacturing approaches in companies such as Procella Tx, Cellectis, CGT Catapult, CCRM, and recently Alder Therapeutics. Crucially, Ricardo has also been involved in the generation and production of clinical-grade iPSC lines, and the design of GMP facilities, thus being a truly rounded leader in this space.
Source: PRNewsWire