Carisma Therapeutics Inc, a preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing innovative immunotherapies based on engineered macrophages, announced today that it has named Robert Petit, PhD as its new chief scientific officer.

Dr Petit is an accomplished immuno-oncology scientist, innovator and drug developer, and a C-level executive experienced at building and leading scientific, translational, and clinical development teams in public and private companies. He co-founded an immuno-oncology program in the early days of cellular therapy, establishing academic IL-2 LAK, and TIL cell treatment programs spanning discovery, translational medicine, IND filing and all phases of clinical development. He has been integral to 7 NDA/BLA/EMA filings in the immuno-oncology space and was part of the pioneering team at BMS, establishing the first checkpoint inhibitor therapy. He most recently served as chief scientific officer of Advaxis Inc, contributing to its successful NASDAQ IPO, raising significant capital, and evolving its platform technology to leverage both personal and shared neoantigens.

Steven Kelly, president and chief executive officer of Carisma Therapeutics, said, 'We are excited to welcome Robert to Carisma. His breadth and depth of immunology and oncology R&D experience will be a tremendous asset to the company. Our platform technology has multiple applications, both within oncology and in other fields of unmet medical need. We are looking forward to Robert's insights and guidance as we continue to build our research and clinical development programs.'