Umoja Biopharma Announces Appointment of Britton Russell as Chief Financial Officer

SEATTLE,, Feb. 28, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Umoja Biopharma, Inc., (Umoja), a transformative immunotherapy company creating off-the-shelf treatments that aim to extend the reach and effectiveness of CAR T cell therapies in oncology and autoimmunity, today announced the appointment of Britton Russell as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Russell brings a wealth of experience working with both emerging growth companies and large multinational organizations to support long-term growth objectives.

Britton Russell, Chief Financial Officer, Umoja Biopharma

“Britton brings a unique experience of scaling early stage, innovative life science organizations through significant periods of growth and development,” said Andy Scharenberg, M.D., Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Umoja. “As we look to bring our first VivoVec drug candidates into the clinic this year, Britton will play a key role in guiding our financial and investor strategy for 2024 and beyond.”

Mr. Russell added, “Umoja’s off-the-shelf and in vivo approaches have the potential to dramatically expand the reach and effectiveness of CAR T therapeutics across multiple indications. The progress the company has made to date demonstrates the strength of the management, the expertise of the talent throughout Umoja, and the full potential of its drug candidates and investment in manufacturing. I am excited to join the team at this important stage of growth.”

Mr. Russell joins Umoja after previously serving as Chief Financial Officer at Parse Biosciences, a single-cell sequencing company, and Genapsys, a DNA sequencing company. Prior, Britton served as Senior Vice President of Finance at ArcherDX, a genomic analysis company and later Invitae, after it acquired ArcherDX. He has also held a diverse range of corporate finance roles at AstraZeneca, Genentech/Roche, and Royal Dutch Shell. Mr. Russell holds an MBA from Rice University, and a BS in Finance and a BA in Business and Sustainability from Arizona State University.

About Umoja Biopharma

Umoja Biopharma, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company aiming to develop off-the-shelf therapeutics that improve the reach, effectiveness, and access of CAR T cell therapies in both oncology and autoimmunity. Umoja’s VivoVec™ in vivo gene delivery technology empowers a patient’s own immune system to fight disease. Enabling its core technology is the Company’s state-of-the-art lentiviral vector development and manufacturing facility in Louisville, Colorado. Umoja believes its approach can provide broader access and improved effectiveness of the most advanced immunotherapies, enabling more patients to live better, fuller lives. To learn more, connect with Umoja on LinkedIn and visit http://umoja-biopharma.com/.

Investors

Grace Kim, Ph.D.
Strategic Advisor 
grace.kim@umoja-biopharma.com

Laurence Watts
Gilmartin Group, LLC
laurence@gilmartinir.com

Media

Jason Braco, Ph.D.
LifeSci Communications
jbraco@lifescicomms.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/fecb105b-860c-4a3c-ac7f-301432788e0f