Our Company

We are a biotechnology company with one specific mission: Advance humanity by engineering cell therapies that are safer, more effective, and more broadly accessible.

Our Story

founder doctor david hilbert
2014
DECEMBER 2014

Arcellx was founded with the goal of adding control and adaptability to the potential of cell therapy.

research and development droplet
2015
APRIL 2015

Received seed money to start the development of what would become the D-Domain binding scaffold in an 800 sq. ft. tech incubator space in Gaithersburg, MD.

d domain protein
2016
WINTER 2016/2017

The initial success of the fully synthetic D-Domain, along with the prototypes of the first ARC-SparX platform, helps secure Series A funding, enabling the team to expand operations.

arc sparx protein
2019
OCTOBER 2019

Arcellx receives IND approval from the FDA for anitocabtagene autoleucel and closed Series B funding to kick-start clinical trials and advance pipeline of ARC-SparX therapies.

ddbcma protein
2020
FEBRUARY 2020

The first patient is dosed with anitocabtagene autoleucel for the treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

DECEMBER 2020
The data from the company’s ongoing Phase 1 Study of anitocabtagene autoleucel presented at ASH.

arcellx patient one
2021
APRIL 2021

Arcellx received IND approval from the FDA for ACLX-001, a controllable cell therapy that uses the ARC-SparX platform for the treatment of multiple myeloma.

JUNE 2021
Arcellx secures Series C funding to continue advancing anitocabtagene autoleucel and ACLX-001.

ddbcma and aclx-001 protein
2022
FEBRUARY 2022

Arcellx closes successful initial public offering and begins trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “ACLX”.

MAY 2022
Arcellx doses first patient in its Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating ACLX-001, the first therapeutic in the dosable and controllable ARC-SparX platform, for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

CEO rami elghandour
2022
June 2022

Arcellx presents continued robust long-term responses from its anitocabtagene autoleucel Phase 1 expansion trial in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma at the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting.

2023
January 2023

Kite, a Gilead Company, and Arcellx finalize a global strategic collaboration to co-develop and co-commercialize Arcellx’s lead late-stage product candidate,  anitocabtagene autoleucel (CART-ddBCMA), for the  treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

2024
May 2024

Arcellx and Kite, a Gilead Company announce the design of iMMagine-3, a phase 3, randomized controlled trial designed to compare the efficacy and safety of anitocabtagene autoleucel (anito-cel) with SOC in patients with relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma (rrMM) who have received one to three prior lines of therapy, including an immunomodulatory drug (lMiD) and an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody.

Leadership

Rami Elghandour
Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer
+
Maryam Abdul-Kareem, JD, MS
General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer
+
Kate Aiken
Chief People Officer
+
Doug Alleavitch
Vice President, Quality
+
Aileen Fernandes
Chief Business Officer
+
Michelle Gilson
Chief Financial Officer
+
Brad Gliner
Vice President, Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs
+
Christopher Heery, MD
Chief Medical Officer
+
Myesha Lacy
Chief Investor and Communications Officer
+
Brian Murphy, PhD
Vice President, Cell Process Sciences
+
Narinder Singh
Chief Technical Officer
+
Heba Nowyhed, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
+
Neeraj Teotia
Chief Commercial Officer
+
rami elghandour at waterfall
Rami Elghandour
Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer

Rami joined Arcellx in 2021 and serves as our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Most recently, Rami served as President and CEO of Nevro, beginning in 2012. Under his leadership, Nevro grew from a small private company to a public company approaching $400m in revenue and a leader in neuromodulation. Prior to Nevro, Rami was an investor with Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation (JJDC), where he led several investments including Nevro’s Series B Financing and served on the Board of Directors of several private companies including Nevro’s. Prior to joining JJDC, Rami was a Design Engineer for Advanced Neuromodulation Systems, Inc. where he led firmware design and development on several implantable spinal cord stimulators. Rami earned recognition as an EY Entrepreneur of the Year, as one of the top CEOs in the US and as one of the top CEOs for women and diversity. He is a recipient of the Bill Campbell award by Watermark for his influence, impact, and advocacy in promoting women and women’s issues. Rami received an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and holds a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Rutgers University School of Engineering.

Maryam Abdul-Kareem, JD, MS
General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer

Maryam joined Arcellx as our General Counsel in June 2022. Most recently, she served as Deputy General Counsel at Kinnate Biopharma Inc. Prior to Kinnate, she was Assistant General Counsel, Corporate at AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, where she led negotiations for numerous complex strategic transactions, including a landmark license deal with the University of Oxford for global rights to the ChAdOx1 COVID-19 vaccine. Previously, Maryam held the position of Associate, Corporate & Securities at Pepper Hamilton LLP (now Troutman Pepper). She began her career as Study Technician/Assistant Toxicologist, Genetic Toxicology at Covance Labs Inc. (now Labcorp); and Clinical Marketing Specialist, Global Marketing at Given Imaging Ltd. (now Medtronic). Maryam holds a JD from Georgetown University Law Center, an MS in Biotechnology/Regulatory Affairs from Johns Hopkins University, and a BS in Laboratory Animal Science from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. She is an attorney licensed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and registered with the State Bar of California.

Kate Aiken
Kate Aiken
Chief People Officer

Kate, an accomplished human resources business leader, brings more than 20 years of cross-industry experience, building and managing high-caliber HR organizations and partnering with business leaders to support the growth of industry-leading companies. Kate joins Arcellx from McKesson Corporation where she held roles with increasing responsibility since 2013, most recently serving as Senior Vice President, Human Resources, as part of the company’s Prescription Technology Solutions business unit. In this role Kate was part of an HR transformation that integrated a disruptive start-up into McKesson, which served as a springboard for her interest in rejoining a smaller, entrepreneurial company. Prior to McKesson, Kate spent 10 years at Gap, Inc. in several leading roles, most recently as Vice President, Human Resources. From 1999-2003, Kate was Vice President and Head of Human Resources at Oxygen Media, a start-up in the media and entertainment space. Kate holds an MBA in Business Strategy from New York University and a BA in Government from Dartmouth College.

Doug Alleavitch
Vice President, Quality

Doug joined Arcellx in October, 2022 and serves as our Vice President of Quality. Prior to joining Arcellx Doug served as Vice President of Quality at Nevro. During that time he and the Quality team supported the rapid ramp in commercial production immediately after FDA approval for the Senza product. In addition to managing all aspects of product quality for an outsourced production model the organization was also responsible for supporting new product development, handling technical inquiries from physicians, patients and Nevro representatives and managing customer complaints. The organization also managed external audits and inspections by their notified body and the FDA. Prior to Nevro, Doug spent more than 30 years working in variety of Quality and Operations roles with both small (AngioScore, Aegea Medical) and large (Baxter, Boston Scientifc, Aventis Behring) medical product companies. Doug has a BS Chemical Engineering degree from Cornell University and an MS Chemical Engineering degree from Illinois Institute of Technology. He also has an MBA and MS Industrial Engineering degree from the University of Illinios at Chicago.

Aileen Fernandes
Aileen Fernandes
Chief Business Officer

Aileen joined Arcellx in 2021 and currently serves as our Chief Business Officer. Prior to joining Arcellx, Aileen held many roles with increasing responsibility at Nevro Corporation including Chief of Staff to the Chief Executive Officer, Associate Director, Business Development and Strategy, and as a Director of Marketing where she was instrumental in leading the go-to-market commercial strategy for a new clinical indication. Prior to Nevro, Aileen was a management consultant at Deloitte Consulting, partnering with a wide range of companies across the healthcare sector, and held business development and marketing roles at multiple digital health startups. Aileen started her career at Morgan Stanley where she was a Finance Analyst. Aileen received an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and holds a BA in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Michelle Gilson
Chief Financial Officer

Michelle Gilson joined Arcellx, Inc. as our chief financial officer in May 2022. Most recently, Ms. Gilson served as a Managing Director and Senior Equity Research Analyst at Canaccord Genuity, covering biotechnology companies. Prior to joining Canaccord, Ms. Gilson held biotechnology equity research roles at Jefferies, LLC; Instinet, LLC (Nomura Securities); Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.; and Goldman Sachs. Ms. Gilson earned her B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Southern California.

Brad Gliner
Brad Gliner
Vice President, Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs

Brad joined Arcellx in March 2021, bringing over 30 years of experience in developing, testing, and commercializing medical technologies. Most recently, Brad served as VP of Clinical and Regulatory for Nevro, leading the clinical trials and regulatory approvals to bring a more effective spinal cord stimulation system to patients with chronic pain. Prior to this, Brad was VP of Research at Northstar Neuroscience, investigating numerous neuromodulation applications such as hemiparesis following stroke, major depressive disorder, movement disorders, and tinnitus. He was co-founder and Director of Research at Heartstream, which revolutionized automatic external defibrillators (AEDs), expanding their use from professional medical providers to ubiquitous availability. Brad received an MS degree in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL.

Chris Heery
Christopher Heery, MD
Chief Medical Officer

Chris has served as Arcellx’s Chief Medical Officer since April 2021. Prior to that, he served as Chief Medical Officer of Precision BioSciences and Bavarian Nordic. At Precision, he oversaw the clinical development of one of the first allogeneic CAR-T cell platforms and provided clinical insight into clinical efforts for gene editing therapeutics. While at Bavarian Nordic, he oversaw clinical development programs for its immune-oncology and infectious disease vaccine portfolio. Prior to his roles in biotech, he was head of the Clinical Trials Group of the Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). He joined NCI Medical Oncology Branch as a Medical Oncology Fellow in 2009 and held an Adjunct Appointment in the Genitourinary Malignancies Branch. At NCI, Dr. Heery was part of the larger effort of the Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology to create new immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer. Dr. Heery is board-certified in Medical Oncology and Internal Medicine and completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Illinois at Chicago after receiving his MD from East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine. Dr. Heery also holds a BA in English Literature from Duke University.

Myesha Lacy
Myesha Lacy
Chief Investor and Communications Officer

Myesha joined Arcellx in June 2021, bringing over 25 years of experience as a communications professional providing strategy, development, and execution of internal and external communications programs for publicly traded pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Most recently, Myesha was Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications at Adverum Biotechnologies. Prior to this Myesha held the same role at Global Blood Therapeutics, Inc., a $3 billion market capitalization company. Previously, Myesha led the integrated communications function at ZS Pharma, Inc. (acquired by AstraZeneca PLC), Hyperion Therapeutics, Inc. (acquired by Horizon Pharma), and served in various communications roles with increasing responsibility at other publicly traded biotechnology companies. Myesha earned a BA in Business from Holy Names University.

Brian Murphy
Brian Murphy, PhD
Vice President, Cell Process Sciences

Prior to Arcellx, Brian held multiple roles within Bristol Myers Squibb (formerly Celgene) where he worked over a decade on the development and commercialization of cellular therapies. Most recently, he was Senior Director of Process Engineering in Global Manufacturing Science and Technology, where he was responsible for late-stage lifecycle management, facility design, and technical transfer for multiple CAR-T assets. Brian has led technical transfers to internal sites and CMOs, oversaw the PPQ program for a CAR-T product, and contributed to BLA/MAA submissions. Brian previously led the Process Development department in the development of allogeneic cell therapies, represented Technical Operations on global project teams, and led teams in Analytical Development. Brian oversaw the CMC sections for multiple IND submissions for new therapeutic candidates, and he has a history of working with health authorities on novel products from pre-IND through pre-BLA meetings. Prior to working in cell and gene therapies, Brian worked in vaccine manufacturing at Merck. Brian has a PhD in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.

Narinder Singh
Narinder Singh
Chief Technical Officer

Narinder joined Arcellx in Oct 2021 and serves as our Chief Technical Officer. Narinder has over two decades of technical and operational leadership experience in end-to-end biopharmaceutical clinical development, commercialization, and life cycle management. Previously, Narinder was CTO for Forte Biosciences, and prior to Forte, he served as EVP Technical Operations at Aimmune Inc. Prior to Aimmune, Narinder led neoantigen-based personalized cancer vaccine and T cell therapy development as SVP, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Manufacturing at Genocea. Prior to Genocea, Narinder served in a variety of technical leadership roles in drug product and combination device development, commercialization, and manufacturing operations at Momenta Pharmaceuticals and at Amgen. Narinder holds a B.Tech/M.Tech in Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, an MS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Houston, and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Heba Nowyhed fun photo
Heba Nowyhed, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer

Heba joined Arcellx in November 2024 and serves as our Chief Scientific Officer. She has more than 15 years of leadership experience in drug development of cell and gene therapies, specifically CAR/TCR engineered T-cell products. Most recently, Heba held roles of increasing responsibility at IconOVir Bio, including Chief Scientific Officer, Senior Vice President of Research, and Vice President of Translational Research. As Chief Scientific Officer, she spearheaded the transition of the company’s lead clinical drug product from preclinical to clinical stages, managed the research department, and drove development of a robust biomarker strategy. Prior to IconOVir Bio, she served as Senior Associate at Vida Ventures and Associate Director, Research at Kite, a Gilead Company. Heba began her career at La Jolla Institute for Immunology where she completed a postdoctoral fellowship. She was selected as a Woman to Watch finalist in the Los Angeles Business Journal 2021 Women’s Leadership Awards. Heba received a PhD in Immunobiology as well as an MS and M.Ph. in Immunobiology from Yale University. She holds a BS in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Neeraj Teotia
Neeraj Teotia
Chief Commercial Officer

Neeraj joined Arcellx in April 2021 and serves as our Chief Commercial Officer. Prior to joining Arcellx, Neeraj served as the Vice President of Marketing at Nevro. Over his 7 years at Nevro, he and his team set and executed commercial plans for a business that grew to ~$400 MM. His responsibilities included product and clinical portfolio strategy, branding, demand generation, key thought leader engagement, professional education, sales analytics and sales training. Prior to Nevro, Neeraj worked in the medical device sector at Johnson & Johnson for 17 years where he had various roles within Marketing, Licensing & Acquisitions and Research & Development. Neeraj received an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and has a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Board of Directors

Rami joined Arcellx in 2021 and serves as our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Most recently, Rami served as President and CEO of Nevro, beginning in 2012. Under his leadership, Nevro grew from a small private company to a public company approaching $400m in revenue and a leader in neuromodulation. Prior to Nevro, Rami was an investor with Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation (JJDC), where he led several investments including Nevro’s Series B Financing and served on the Board of Directors of several private companies including Nevro’s. Prior to joining JJDC, Rami was a Design Engineer for Advanced Neuromodulation Systems, Inc. where he led firmware design and development on several implantable spinal cord stimulators. Rami earned recognition as an EY Entrepreneur of the Year, as one of the top CEOs in the US and as one of the top CEOs for women and diversity. He is a recipient of the Bill Campbell award by Watermark for his influence, impact, and advocacy in promoting women and women’s issues. Rami received an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and holds a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Rutgers University School of Engineering.

Ali is a general partner at New Enterprise Associates (NEA). Prior to NEA, he held positions at The Medicines Company, Morgan Stanley Venture Partners, and Lehman Brothers. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of Genocea Biosciences, Oyster Point Pharma, Monte Rosa Therapeutics, Nkarta, Inc., CRISPR Therapeutics, Adaptimmune Therapeutics, Black Diamond Therapeutics, CVRx, Minerva Surgical, and was on the board of Nevro Corp. Ali received a BS from Duke University, an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, and an MD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Jill is a Partner at SR One. Previously, Jill’s background is in corporate development and partnering in biotech companies, including Dynavax Technologies (NASDAQ: DVAX). Jill also worked as a consultant, specializing in health care. Jill is a member of the Board of Directors of HotSpot Therapeutics and Odyssey Therapeutics. Jill received her BS from Duke University and her MS in Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology from Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Kavita Patel is currently a primary care physician in Washington DC. She is also a nonresident Fellow at the Brookings Institution where she concentrates on a number of efforts including delivery system reforms and cost containment. Recently, she was a system level executive at Johns Hopkins Health System with oversight of clinical integration and network contracting . Dr. Patel was previously a Director of Policy for The White House under President Obama and a Deputy Staff Director to the late Senator Edward Kennedy, where she focused on pandemic preparedness and health care reform. Her prior research in healthcare quality and community approaches to mental illness have earned national recognition and she has published numerous papers and book chapters on healthcare reform and health policy.

David is a senior finance executive with more than 25 years of experience in the life sciences industry. David served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Ra Pharma until May 2020, following its acquisition by UCB. Prior to Ra Pharma, David was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals and was previously Chief Financial Officer of PharMetrics Inc., a leading patient-based pharmacy and medical claims data informatics company. He was also Chief Financial Officer at ProScript, where Velcade® (bortezomib), a therapy widely used for the treatment of the blood cancer multiple myeloma, was discovered. David serves on the Board of Directors of Dyne Therapeutics, Gemini Therapeutics, Point BioPharma, and Vor Biopharma. A Certified Public Accountant, David received his BS in business administration from Northeastern University and an MS in taxation from Bentley University.

Olivia brings more than 20 years of experience in biotech and pharmaceutical drug development, commercialization, and healthcare management. Most recently, Olivia served as Senior Vice President, BTK Franchise at Principia Biopharma which was acquired by Sanofi in 2020. Prior to that, she was the Senior Vice President for commercial activities at Proteus Digital Health, Inc., a marketing and strategy consultant, and Chief Commercial Officer at CytRx Corporation. Olivia served in a variety of roles of increasing responsibility at Genentech in sales and marketing, managed care and leading global cross-functional teams. Olivia currently serves on the public boards of Revance Therapeutics, Inc., and Ambrx, Inc. Olivia holds an M.B.A. in Finance and Marketing from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and an A.B. from Davidson College.

Derek is President and Chief Executive Officer at Solasta Ventures and a member of the Board of Directors of Solasta. Derek is as member of the Board of Directors of Trefoil Therapeutics, and has served on the Board of Directors of Clearside Biomedical. Prior to Solasta, Derek managed investments with RBS Citizens, Berwind Private Equity, and Kibo Capital. Derek received a Master of Finance from Boston College and a MBA from Babson College. Derek also received a BS in Chemical Engineering from Yonsei University in South Korea.