11. Controllable cell and gene therapies, Paul Wotton, PhD, CEO, Obsidian Therapeutics

Dr. Paul K. Wotton is the Chief Executive Officer at Obsidian Therapeutics. Obsidian is a biotechnology company pioneering controllable cell and gene therapies to deliver transformative outcomes for patients with intractable diseases. Obsidian’s proprietary cytoDRiVE™ technology provides a way to control protein degradation using FDA-approved small molecules, permitting precise control of the timing and level of protein expression. The cytoDRiVE™ platform can be applied to design controllable intracellular, membrane and secreted proteins for cell and gene therapies as well as other applications. The Company’s initial applications focus on developing novel cell therapies for the treatment of cancer. Paul has over 30 years of experience in scientific research, product development and corporate growth in the life science industry. Previously, Paul served as Founding President and Chief Executive Officer of Sigilon Therapeutics, Inc. Prior to Sigilon, Dr. Wotton served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Ocata Therapeutics until its acquisition by Astellas Pharma where he was also Co-Chairman of the Office of Integration. In previous roles, Paul has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Antares Pharma (NASDAQ:ATRS) as well as Chief Executive Officer of Topigen Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Wotton is a named inventor on numerous patents and was the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Regional (NJ) Winner Life Sciences in 2014. He serves on the Boards of Directors of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ: VCEL) and Cynata Therapeutics (ASX: CYP) as its Chairman. Until recently Paul was a board member at Veloxis Pharmaceuticals A/S (Copenhagen: VELO) which was recently acquired by Asahi. Dr. Wotton holds a B.Pharm (Honors) from UCL, London’s global university, and a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from University of Nottingham.