Lyell Immunopharma Announces Return of Dr. Rick Klausner as Board Chair

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Dec. 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Lyell Immunopharma, Inc. (Lyell), (Nasdaq: LYEL), a T cell reprogramming company dedicated to the mastery of T cells to cure patients with solid tumors, today announced that Dr. Rick Klausner is resuming his role as Chair of Lyell’s Board of Directors following the end of a temporary medical leave which was disclosed by the Company on September 30, 2021.

“First and foremost, we are thankful that Rick is in great health, and we are excited to have him resume his active engagement with Lyell,” said Liz Homans, Chief Executive Officer of Lyell. “In addition to his role as Chair of Lyell’s Board of Directors, we will also continue to benefit from Rick’s scientific guidance through his continued engagement with our scientists and leadership team.”

“Lyell and our mission of developing curative cell therapies for solid tumors represents the culmination of a long personal journey that inspires and motivates me, and I’m delighted to resume my role as Chair of the Board as the Company is advancing multiple programs into clinical trials,” said Rick Klausner, MD, Chair of Lyell’s Board of Directors. “On behalf of the entire Board I want to thank Cathy Friedman for her leadership of the Board during the past two months.”

About Lyell Immunopharma, Inc.

Lyell is a T cell reprogramming company dedicated to the mastery of T cells to cure patients with solid tumors. The Company focuses on addressing what it believes are the primary barriers that limit consistent, reliable, and curative responses to adoptive T cell therapy: T cell exhaustion and lack of durable stemness, which includes proliferative capacity, ability to self-renew and ability to differentiate and eliminate solid tumors. Lyell is applying its proprietary ex vivo genetic and epigenetic reprogramming technology platforms, Gen-R and Epi-R, to address these barriers in order to develop new medicines with improved, durable, and potentially curative clinical outcomes. Lyell is based in South San Francisco, California and Seattle and Bothell, Washington. To learn more, please visit www.lyell.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements expressed or implied in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: Lyell’s plans to submit to FDA multiple INDs and begin generating clinical data, and the timing thereof; Dr. Klausner’s continued engagement with our scientists and leadership team; and other statements that are not historical fact. These statements are based on Lyell’s current plans, objectives, estimates, expectations and intentions, are not guarantees of future performance and inherently involve significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties, which include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties related to: the effects of the evolving COVID-19 pandemic; Lyell’s ability to submit planned INDs on the anticipated timing or at all; initiation of planned clinical trials and enrollment of patients in its future clinical trials; Lyell’s ability to manufacture and supply its product candidates for its clinical trials; the preclinical profiles of Lyell’s product candidates not translating in clinical trials; and other risks, including those risks described under the heading “Risk Factors” in Lyell’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2021. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of this date, and Lyell undertakes no duty to update such information except as required under applicable law.

Contact:
Ellen Rose
Vice President, Communications and Investor Relations
erose@lyell.com