Sonoma Biotherapeutics Appoints Lisa Taylor Ash, JD, as Chief Legal Officer

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sonoma Biotherapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing engineered regulatory T cell (Treg) therapies for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, today announced the appointment of Lisa Taylor Ash, JD, to the company's executive management team as Chief Legal Officer and Secretary. Ms. Ash joins Sonoma Biotherapeutics as a proven biotech executive with deep expertise in public and private biotech companies across the entire product lifecycle, most recently serving as Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel at Shape Therapeutics.

“Lisa brings an impressive record of industry leadership and experience to Sonoma Biotherapeutics, and we believe her addition will greatly enhance our strategic and legal operations as we continue to advance our pipeline and execute on milestones this year,” said Jeff Bluestone, PhD, Chief Executive Officer and President of Sonoma Biotherapeutics. “We are pleased to have Lisa join and grow our leadership team at such an exciting time for SonomaBio, and we look forward to working together to continue our mission of developing potentially novel treatments for serious autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.”

Ms. Ash has played key roles in multiple biotech startups through critical growth phases, raising private venture financing, negotiating high-value pharma partnerships, scaling clinical trials, and supporting two billion-dollar product launches. Most recently at Shape Therapeutics, Ms. Ash was instrumental in building their legal department and eventually leading operations. Before that role, Ms. Ash served as Vice President, Head of Healthcare Law and Compliance at Juno Therapeutics, where she led a team of lawyers advising on issues related to the manufacturing and clinical development of CAR-T cell therapy. Ms. Ash has also served as the Senior Director of Compliance and Legal Affairs at Exelixis and Corporate Counsel, Healthcare Law at Pharmacyclics, and as a Healthcare Associate at Sidley Austin LLP. Ms. Ash currently sits on the board of Fauna Bio.

Ms. Ash earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Michigan, and her JD from Harvard Law School.

"I'm excited to join Sonoma Biotherapeutics and work alongside the dedicated leadership team, who share in my commitment to developing novel therapies to change patient lives," said Ms. Ash. "I look forward to helping strengthen the company's strategic and legal operations as we continue to advance our programs and pioneer the future of Treg biology and cell therapy."

About Sonoma Biotherapeutics
Sonoma Biotherapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing engineered regulatory T cell (Treg) therapies to treat serious autoimmune and inflammatory diseases by restoring balance to the immune system. Founded by pioneers in Treg biology and cell therapy, the company is employing proprietary platform technologies and approaches to develop a new generation of targeted and durable Treg cell therapies. Sonoma Biotherapeutics is based in South San Francisco and Seattle. For more information, visit sonomabio.com and follow on X, formerly Twitter, and LinkedIn.