Outpace Bio expands Seattle presence with cell therapy research hub & collaborations with leading experts in protein design & cancer immunotherapy

Seattle, WA, May 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Outpace Bio, a company using protein design and cell engineering to create advanced cell therapies with curative potential, today announced the expansion of its research facilities and new collaborations with leading scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and the Institute for Protein Design at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

With a new 23,000 square-foot facility now open in Seattle’s Dexter Yard, Outpace Bio aims to develop solutions to the multiple barriers that today stand in the way of treating solid tumors. This expansion will accelerate the company’s efforts to turn cell therapies into safe and effective cures for patients.

Outpace is also extending its research collaborations with two prominent scientists in the Seattle area: biochemist and computational biologist David Baker, PhD, who is the Director of the UW Medicine Institute for Protein Design, as well as oncologist and immunotherapy researcher Stan Riddell, MD, who is the Burke O’Reilly Family Endowed Chair in Immunotherapy at Fred Hutch and a professor of Oncology at the University of Washington.

The research collaboration with UW will enable Outpace to access new machine learning algorithms for its protein design capabilities, while the collaboration with Fred Hutch will allow Outpace to delve deeper into the mechanism of action and efficacy of the company’s engineered cell therapies in innovative translational models.

"Seattle is home to some of the world's leading biomedical institutions, and we look forward to growing into this community," said Marc Lajoie, CEO and co-founder of Outpace Bio. "Together, these collaborations will help advance our mission to create safe and effective cell therapies."

David Baker, PhD, is a biochemist and computational biologist, Director of the Institute for Protein Design, investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and a professor of biochemistry at the University of Washington. He is widely recognized for his pioneering work in the field of protein design, using computational methods to model and design proteins with specific functions across a variety of applications, including drug discovery and vaccine development. Dr. Baker has received numerous research awards, including the 2021 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences. Dr. Baker has co-founded multiple biotechnology companies, published over 600 research articles, and is a named inventor on more than 100 patents related to protein design.

Stan Riddell, MD, is a renowned physician-scientist and a world leader in developing immunotherapies to fight cancers and infections. He is Professor in the Translational Sciences and Therapeutics Division at Fred Hutch and a Professor of Medicine and Oncology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. Dr. Riddell performed groundbreaking work in chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy and has co-founded multiple biotechnology companies, published over 300 peer-reviewed publications, and is a named inventor on 20 patents.

About Outpace Bio
Outpace is creating cell therapies with curative potential through protein design and cellular engineering. With an initial focus on solid tumors, Outpace is developing technologies that overcome the barriers to efficacy and safety by programming cells to make the right decisions inside patients. Outpace’s suite of technologies drive persistent activity of the cell therapy, recruit a productive immune response in the tumor microenvironment, and achieve the potency, specificity, and safety necessary to unlock diverse cancer indications. Outpace’s internal and partnered pipeline approach is optimized for rapid clinical validation of its technologies across diverse cell types and manufacturing processes. Outpace is based in Seattle, Washington. To learn more, visit outpacebio.com or email info@outpacebio.com and follow on Twitter and Instagram @OutpaceBio.

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