Astraveus, the Benchtop Cell Factory company, is excited to welcome internationally renowned cell therapy expert Dr. Jerome Ritz as new member of its Advisory Board. Dr. Ritz joins with a wealth of experience in various areas of research, including hematologic oncology and stem cell transplantation, as well as in the development and manufacturing of genetically modified cellular therapies. “We are extremely grateful that Dr. Ritz has agreed to join our Advisory Board as we advance our development on Lakhesys- The Benchtop Cell Factory®. This fantastic addition will further enhance our ability to address critical needs within the cell therapy manufacturing ecosystem,” says Dr. Jérémie Laurent, CEO and founder of Astraveus.
Dr. Ritz has co-authored more than 450 scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals and contributed to numerous presentations at leading scientific conferences. From 1996 until June 2024, Dr. Ritz held the position of Executive Director of the Connell and O’Reilly Families Cell Manipulation Core Facility (CMCF) at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. This GMP facility manufactures a variety of cellular products including genetically modified hematopoietic stem cells, CAR T cells, NK cells, regulatory T cells, invariant NKT cells and cancer vaccines for patients enrolled on early phase clinical trials. He is Professor of Medicine at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School and continues to lead a research team at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. His research focuses on immune reconstitution after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, cellular therapies and immunotherapy of cancer.