CDR-Life Appoints Sarah Holland, PhD, as Chief Business Officer

Accomplished biopharmaceutical leader to drive strategic growth and partnerships for company's pioneering T cell engager therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases

ZÜRICH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CDR-Life today announced the appointment of Sarah Holland, PhD, as Chief Business Officer. Drawing on her over 30 years of biopharmaceutical industry expertise, Dr. Holland will spearhead CDR-Life’s business development initiatives and commercial strategy, focusing on advancing its innovative M-gager® platform to develop T cell engager (TCE) therapies for patients with cancer and autoimmune diseases.

“Sarah's distinguished career reflects her unique ability to bridge scientific innovation and business strategy. Her leadership and proven expertise arrive at an inflection point for CDR-Life as we advance our clinical program in solid cancers and build momentum in the autoimmune space,” said Christian Leisner, PhD, CEO and founder of CDR-Life. “We are excited about Sarah joining our leadership team and she will play a pivotal role as we harness our M-gager platform to develop breakthrough therapies for both cancers and autoimmune conditions.”

Dr. Holland has more than 30 years of biopharma experience, most recently serving as Chief Business Officer of Cureteq. She previously served as Chief Business Officer of VectivBio during its IPO on NASDAQ and drove the acquisition and integration of Comet Therapeutics as well as a partnering deal with Asahi Kasei. Previously, Dr. Holland was Global Head of Licensing and Head of R&D at Lonza and led the External Science and Partnering team at Sanofi. She held positions of increasing responsibility with Roche for over a decade, where she drove notable deals in oncology and central nervous system (CNS) and built and led the M&A assessment and integration team. In her last role at Roche, Sarah was the Lifecycle Leader for Alecensa during FDA and EMA submission. Prior to Roche, she held commercial roles in diagnostics, biotech and pharma, culminating in the global launch of Faslodex for AstraZeneca. Dr. Holland also serves as President of the Swiss Healthcare Licensing Group.

"With its T cell engager therapy, CDR-Life is a true industry standout and I look forward to leveraging my experience and background to help realize the full potential of the M-gager platform and expand our therapeutic reach. This is an incredibly exciting phase of growth for CDR-Life and I am thrilled to be part of the talented team working to deliver innovative solutions for patients with serious unmet medical needs,” said Dr. Holland, Chief Business Officer of CDR-Life.

About CDR-Life

CDR-Life develops highly targeted T cell engagers (TCEs) for the treatment of solid cancers and autoimmune diseases. Our M-gager® platform delivers TCEs against challenging but cancer-specific intracellular and surface antigens through unparalleled target-specificity. With our first oncology program now in clinical trials, we are advancing a pipeline of potent and selective TCE therapeutics. Our partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim on a molecule derived from our M-gager® platform, progressing to Phase 2 trials, demonstrates the potential of our antibody-derived molecules. Backed by leading cross-Atlantic investors, our team is committed to bringing life-changing, disease-modifying medicines to patients globally. Learn more at www.cdr-life.com.