TCR² Therapeutics Announces Veteran Finance Executive Stephen Webster Joins its Board of Directors

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TCR² Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: TCRR), a clinical-stage immunotherapy company developing the next generation of novel T cell therapies for patients suffering from cancer, today announced the appointment of Stephen Webster to its Board of Directors. With nearly 30 years of biotechnology industry experience in raising capital, business development transactions and operations, Mr. Webster has played important roles as the Chief Financial Officer of Spark Therapeutics, Optimer Pharmacuticals and Adolor Corporation. In connection with Mr. Webster’s arrival, Mitchell Finer, Ph.D., will be stepping down from the Board of Directors effective May 4, 2020 but will continue to serve TCR² in an advisory capacity.

"We are delighted to welcome in another successful cell and gene therapy executive as Stephen Webster joins our Board of Directors. His distinguished track record of leading companies through periods of growth will prove invaluable at this moment in time as we prepare to present clinical data for our two lead programs, TC-210 and TC-110, and advance a third mono TRuC-T cell therapy towards the clinic," said Garry Menzel, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of TCR² Therapeutics. "His business development transaction expertise will be particularly useful in helping us strike the right partnerships in pursuing our goal of developing innovative T cell therapies for patients suffering from cancer.”

Mr. Webster served as the Chief Financial Officer of Spark Therapeutics, a publicly traded gene therapy biotechnology company, from July 2014 until its acquisition by Roche for $4.3 billion in December 2019. He was previously Senior Vice President (SVP) and Chief Financial Officer of Optimer Pharmaceuticals, a publicly traded biotechnology company, from July 2012 until its acquisition by Cubist Pharmaceuticals in October 2013. Prior to joining Optimer, Mr. Webster served as SVP and Chief Financial Officer of Adolor Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, from 2008 until its acquisition by Cubist Pharmaceuticals in 2011. Mr. Webster also served in leadership positions in the investment banking healthcare groups of Broadpoint Capital and PaineWebber Incorporated.