Allogene Therapeutics Appoints Geoffrey Parker as Chief Financial Officer

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Oct. 16, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALLO), a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of allogeneic CAR T (AlloCAR T^™) products for cancer, has appointed Geoffrey Parker as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Parker will oversee the Company’s financial operations and business strategy and will serve as a member of the Leadership Team.

“Geoff’s extensive experience in biotechnology across all aspects of finance and business development strategy will be of tremendous value to Allogene as we advance our critical pipeline assets and explore new opportunities,” said David Chang, M.D., Ph.D., President, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Allogene. “Geoff’s commitment to excellence aligns perfectly with Allogene’s vision for the future, and I am confident he’ll be instrumental as we advance one of the most important modalities in cancer treatment.”

Mr. Parker is a seasoned biotech and banking executive with nearly 40 years of leadership experience managing world-class finance and business development organizations. He has directed and managed a broad range of strategic business and finance initiatives, including equity and debt financing, initial public offerings, and business development transactions.

“I am excited to join Allogene during this pivotal time in the company’s evolution,” said Mr. Parker. “My focus will be on continuing its legacy of operational excellence through the lens of financial stewardship, and I look forward to being a part of Allogene as we work to expand access to CAR T for patients in need.”

Before joining Allogene, Mr. Parker served as Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Tricida, Inc., which focused on the development of an investigational drug candidate for metabolic acidosis in patients with chronic kidney disease. Prior to that, Mr. Parker served as Chief Financial Officer of Anacor Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by Pfizer in 2016 for approximately $5.2 billion, and served as a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, where he led the West Coast Healthcare Investment Banking group. In addition, Mr. Parker currently serves as a member of the board of directors of Better Therapeutics and of Perrigo Company plc. Mr. Parker earned a B.A. with a double major in Economics and Engineering Sciences from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

About Allogene Therapeutics
Allogene Therapeutics, with headquarters in South San Francisco, is a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor T cell (AlloCAR T™) products for cancer. Led by a management team with significant experience in cell therapy, Allogene is developing a pipeline of “off-the-shelf” CAR T cell candidates with the goal of delivering readily available cell therapy on-demand, more reliably, and at greater scale to more patients. For more information, please visit www.allogene.com and follow @AllogeneTx on X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The press release may, in some cases, use terms such as “advance,” "predicts," "believes," "potential," "proposed," "continue," "estimates," "anticipates," "expects," "plans," "intends," "may," "could," "might," "will," "should" or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding intentions, beliefs, projections, outlook, analyses or current expectations concerning, among other things Allogene’s ability to develop and deliver readily available allogeneic CAR T products for cancer treatment on-demand, more reliably, and at greater scale to more patients. Various factors may cause material differences between Allogene’s expectations and actual results, including risks and uncertainties related to: our product candidates are based on novel technologies, which makes it difficult to predict the time and cost of product candidate development and obtaining regulatory approval; the extent to which the FDA disagrees with our clinical or regulatory plans, which could cause future delays to our clinical trials or require additional clinical trials; we may not be able to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our product candidates in our clinical trials, which could prevent or delay regulatory approval and commercialization; and our ability to obtain additional financing to develop our products and implement our operating plans. These and other risks are discussed in greater detail in Allogene’s filings with the SEC, including without limitation under the “Risk Factor” Heading in its Form 10-Q filed for the quarter ended June 30, 2023. Any forward-looking statements that are made in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. Allogene assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this press release.

AlloCAR T^™ is a trademark of Allogene Therapeutics, Inc.

Allogene Media/Investor Contact:
Christine Cassiano
Chief Corporate Affairs and Brand Strategy Officer
Christine.Cassiano@allogene.com