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A Master Of Firsts: Pascal Touchon On Atara Bio And The Maturing Cell Therapy Ecosystem

 
• By David Wild

Having led the way to regulatory approval for Kymriah and now Ebvallo, Atara CEO Pascal Touchon reflects on the evolution of cell therapy and what his company is doing differently.

Atara's Platform Has The Epstein-Barr Virus At Its Core • Source: Shutterstock

Pascal Touchon is no stranger to firsts. As the former SVP and global head of cell and gene at Novartis AG, he was pivotal in gaining EU and US approval for Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel), the first-ever approved CAR T-cell therapy. In his current role as CEO of Southern California-based Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc., Touchon again helped make history, this time with the EU approval of the first “off-the-shelf” allogeneic cell therapy, Ebvallo (tabelecleucel), which is indicated for the treatment of relapsed or refractory Epstein-Barr virus-positive post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) in patients who have received at least one prior therapy.

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Final Chance To Have Your Say: Take Our Reader Survey This Week

 
• By Eleanor Malone

Editor’s note: This is your final call to participate in the survey to better understand our subscribers’ content and delivery needs. The deadline is 20 September.

Early Development Deals: Ipsen's Strategy For Biomarker-Driven Success

 
• By Eliza Slawther

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Shape Our Content: Take The Reader Survey

 
• By Eleanor Malone

Editor’s note: We are conducting a survey to better understand our subscribers’ content and delivery needs. If there are any changes you’d like to see in the coverage topics, content format or the method in which you receive and access In Vivo, or if you love it how it is, now is the time to have your voice heard.

In Partnership with Cerba Research

Prioritizing Safety in CAR-T Therapy: Patient Monitoring with Cerba Research’s Testing Portfolio

The cell and gene therapy (CGT) clinical trial landscape in general and CAR-T cell clinical trials in particular are a special focus for the FDA, EMA, and other regulatory agencies. The whole industry is thus aware of the recent FDA safety investigation and requirements for labeling CAR therapy products.

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• By Ashley Yeo

Capital remains available for good healthtech projects, but it is more concentrated and harder to find than of late. Founders and inventors must know how to unlock it. The BioWales 2025 investor panel told them where they could be going wrong.

‘I Want Everything To Go Faster’: Medidata’s CEO On Pushing The Strategic Accelerator

 
• By Jo Shorthouse

Appointed CEO 12 months ago, Anthony Costello wasted no time in orchestrating strategic change at Medidata. He talked to In Vivo about the art of the pivot and how to constantly push boundaries.

Deals Shaping The Industry, March 2025

 
• By In Vivo Team

An interactive look at pharma, medtech and diagnostics deals made during March 2025. Data courtesy of Biomedtracker.