Allogene Therapeutics Announces Ton Schumacher, Ph.D., Chair of Scientific Advisory Board, Awarded the Dutch Research Council’s Stevin Prize

• Dr. Schumacher Awarded Prestigious Academic Prize in the Netherlands for Research in Cancer Immunotherapy

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., July 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALLO), a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of allogeneic CAR T (AlloCAR T) therapies for cancer, announced that Ton Schumacher, Ph.D., Principal Investigator at the Netherlands Cancer Institute and chair of Allogene’s Scientific Advisory Board, has been awarded the Stevin Prize. Considered one of the highest distinctions in science for researchers working in the Netherlands, a maximum of two Stevin Prizes are awarded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) each year to a researcher or team whose work has a major social impact.

“We are thrilled that Ton, an internationally renowned immunologist and researcher, has been recognized for his outstanding pioneering and inspiring contributions to cancer immunotherapy with the prestigious Stevin Prize,” said David Chang, M.D., Ph.D., President, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Allogene. “Ton has played a crucial role in understanding how the immune system responds to tumors and translated his scientific discoveries into potential treatments for cancer. We are proud to have him lead our Scientific Advisory Board, where he provides strategic and scientific advice to Allogene as we continue to innovate in allogeneic cell therapy and advance the clinical development of our investigational AlloCAR T therapies.”

Dr. Schumacher was awarded this year’s Stevin Prize for his work in cancer immunotherapy research demonstrating that in many cancer patients a T cell response is formed against the neoantigens that are generated as a consequence of DNA damage. Following this discovery, he collaborated with clinical researchers to translate these insights into novel immunotherapeutic treatments and established several companies to ensure that these treatments would be developed. As a Stevin laureate, Dr. Schumacher will receive 2.5 million euros for novel research, which he intends to use to build an algorithm to predict which cancer antigens individual T cells can recognize.