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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
Key Takeaways:

  • Ebvallo's approval as the first "off-the-shelf" allogeneic cell therapy is a significant advancement in the field, potentially reducing manufacturing costs and improving patient access.

  • Atara Bio's focus on Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) as both a molecule and a target holds promise for addressing EBV-related and non-EBV-related diseases.

  • Pascal Touchon’s leadership has played a pivotal role in advancing cell therapy as he aims to make transformative treatments more accessible to patients in need.

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

As Kymriah brought autologous cell therapy into the clinic, Ebvallo’s December 2022 approval represents another step forward

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