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Gene therapy spinout hires new director

David Laskow-Pooley has joined Brunel University of London’s gene therapy safety spin-out company, TestAVec Ltd.

David will focus on speeding up the commercialisation of Professor Mike Themis's ground-breaking work on gene therapy side effects.

Gene therapy treats serious diseases like cancer, heart disease and cystic fibrosis, by delivering correct copies of malfunctioning genes into patients’ targeted cells.

TestAVec aims to make the process safer and more effective by screening the viral vectors delivering the therapy to ensure they work properly while also checking for toxicity.

"Having had a varied career in medical science, I was fascinated by TestAVec's technology and its potential impact,” David said. “I am delighted to bring my experience to help develop this exciting young company's services."

Based in Maidenhead with laboratory space at Brunel University of London’s Uxbridge campus, TestAVec developed the world’s first patented human stem cell (iPSc) based in vitro testing service replacing studies using animals.

With a background in pharmaceutical engineering, David has guided several developing biotech, life science, and medical device companies from set-up through to full commercialisation. He has worked for public and private sector companies including Life Technologies (now part of Thermo Fisher Scientific), Amersham Pharmacia Biotech (now part of Cytivia), GSK, AbbVie, and OSI Pharmaceuticals. He has also served on the Council of Oxford Brookes University.

TestAVec Chairman, Robert Spencer said: "Gene therapy and its related therapy against cancer called CAR-T therapy hold great promise for humanity, but they come with risks that need to be mitigated. At present, all CAR-T products are under FDA investigation. TestAVec has the science to address these risks support patients on their road to permanent recovery. I am delighted that David has joined us to accelerate the commercialisation of TestAVec’s technology."

ENDS