Mogrify has moved to the Bio-Innovation Centre at the Cambridge Science Park, following the appointment of 15 new staff to its scientific and management teams including, Dr Karin Schmitt as Chief Business Officer and Joe Foster as Chief Operating Officer. These new hires and facilities will aid Mogrify in building a scalable infrastructure to generate IP around novel cell conversion to power the development and manufacture of new cell therapies across multiple therapeutic areas.
Mogrify is located at TusPark’s Cambridge Bio-Innovation Centre featuring facilities for biotech research and health-tech innovation. The Bio-Innovation Centre is the first of its kind to be built at the Cambridge Science Park and is fitted with laboratories for multiple occupiers in the life sciences sector. Mogrify is its anchor tenant and occupies 12,000 sqft of laboratory and office space.
Kevin Lin, President of TusPark UK, said: “Mogrify’s direct cellular conversion technology has the potential to transform cell therapy and we’re delighted to have their expert team join us at our new state-of-the-art research facilities at the centre of the Cambridge cluster.”
The new team members include cell scientists, bioinformaticians and executives, bringing the company’s headcount currently to 20.
Dr Karin Schmitt will lead Mogrify’s commercial operations and its R&D function in her role as Chief Business Officer. She has over 25 years’ experience with a sustained track record of successful leadership roles within the life sciences, biotech and therapeutic industries at Exelixis, Inc., Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Horizon Discovery Group plc and PredictImmune Ltd.
Schmitt has brought over 20 innovative products to market internationally, across a wide scientific spectrum, with a recent emphasis on clinical products and has additional experience in legal, commercial and regulatory pathways. Schmitt obtained her PhD in Molecular Biology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, followed by three years of post-doctoral research in genetics at the University of Cambridge.
Joe Foster’s role as Chief Operating Officer will consist of managing the corporate operations as well as driving Mogrify’s IP management function. He began his career at Horizon Discovery Group plc working within the corporate development team gaining experience in business planning, licensing, technology evaluation and M&A analysis, before becoming Dr Jonathan Milner's (Co-founder of Abcam) Portfolio Manager where he built and managed a complex portfolio of more than 40 early-stage life science companies.
Joe holds a degree in Molecular & Cellular Biology from the University of Bath and an MPhil in Business Management from the University of Cambridge.
Dr Darrin M Disley, OBE, CEO of Mogrify, said: “We are growing a world-class scientific and executive team that will enable Mogrify to become a global leader in the development of novel cell conversion IP that underpins the development of lifesaving cell therapies. The new Bio-Innovation Centre at the Cambridge Science Park offers outstanding facilities, service and networks to its tenants and we’re thrilled to be joining them at this exciting time.”