Celyad Oncology Announces Appointment of Matt Kane as Chief Executive Officer

Regulatory News:

Celyad Oncology (Euronext: CYAD) (the “Company” or “Celyad”) is pleased to announce Matt Kane as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective as of October 1^st, 2024.

Matt Kane is a seasoned executive with over 20 years of experience in entrepreneurial, CEO and board roles. Mr. Kane is a pioneer in genome editing, led the development of the first editing technology to receive clearance for clinical evaluation as an in vivo gene insertion therapeutic and, most importantly, led the development and clinical testing of multiple allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies directed against cancer. His extensive scientific and business acumen have been demonstrated during his career by raising over $500M in equity financings and partnerships valued at over $4B.

Mr. Kane is currently involved with several entrepreneurial initiatives within the biotechnology industry. Until recently, he served as CEO and board member of Tune Therapeutics, Inc., an epigenetic editing biotechnology company. During his tenure at Tune, he led the development of the initial program portfolio, followed by the selection of a lead epi-editing therapeutic candidate. Prior to Tune Therapeutics, Matt co-founded the gene editing company, Precision BioSciences, Inc. (DTIL), in 2006 and led the company as CEO and board member until 2021. While leading Precision, he oversaw the company’s Initial Public Offering, formed several pharmaceutical partnerships across cell and gene therapy, and ultimately directed four unique allogeneic CAR T therapies into human clinical studies.

Mr. Kane holds a Master of Business Administration, Certificate in Health Sector Management, from Duke University, a Master of Biomedical Engineering and a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering, both from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

Hilde Windels, Chair of the Board, commented: “We are very pleased to announce that Matt has been appointed as our new CEO. His in-depth expertise in the CAR T space and his pioneering work at Precision BioSciences (amongst others) are ideal to help Celyad execute its ambitious plans. We congratulate Matt and wish him all the best in his new role.”

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to join Celyad Oncology as its next Chief Executive Officer and, alongside this stellar team, build upon the tremendous progress, deep intellectual property portfolio, and key scientific insights generated by the Company,” commented Matt Kane.