Cell Medica: About

Our team

Senior management

The senior management team have a broad range of skills and specific experience in the commercialisation of cellular therapies.

  • Gregg Sando

    Chief Executive Officer

    Gregg Sando is the founder and CEO of Cell Medica. After a career in investment banking based both in London and New York, he completed his Immunology MSc degree at the medical school of Imperial College. Recognizing the significant progress taking place in the field of cellular immunotherapy, Gregg formed Cell Medica in cooperation with a small group of the leading clinicians and immunologists who were pioneering this new mode of medical treatment.

  • Rainer Knaus

    Senior VP & Head of European Operations

    Rainer has 12 years of commercial experience in cell and gene therapy GMP manufacturing. As General Manager of MainGen (GmbH), he successfully established one of the first GMP cell manufacturing facilities in Germany and secured manufacturing authorizations for a variety of cell and gene based therapies. Thereafter, Rainer joined Miltenyi Biotec as Business Manager of the Cellular Products Division and managed production and regulatory operations with local, national and European authorities. Rainer introduced the first commercial stem cell product on the market in Germany. (BSc, PhD (Hons) University of Heidelberg)

  • Karen Hodgkin

    Head of Clinical Development

    Karen’s extensive experience in planning and running clinical trials has enabled Cell Medica to build its clinical operations in a highly efficient manner. She has helped establish a hospital network which includes the 15 largest centres in the UK responsible for over 70% of the patients receiving bone marrow transplants nationally. With two clinical trials running in the UK, Karen is now planning Cell Medica’s clinical operations in additional EU markets and the USA. Her expertise spans a range of therapeutic applications which she acquired in roles with both big pharma and biotech companies. (BSc Pharmacology Leeds University; MSc Biopharmacy King’s College, London, London; Diploma in Clinical Science UWIST, Cardiff).

  • Tina Crombie

    Head of Business Administration

    Tina is responsible for Cell Medica’s licencing and patent management, commercial contracts, project and grant management activities and Cell Medica’s accounts functions. She brings experience from her previous roles in managing these activities for University College London, Rothamsted Research Ltd (UK Research Council Institute) and Thomson Scientific.

    Contact Tina in respect of Cell Medica’s patented and proprietary technologies and for contracts supporting confidential discussions, material transfer arrangements and relationships with your organisation. (BSc, MSc, LLP)

  • Katy Newton

    Head of Research

    Katy is responsible for both the UK production and R&D laboratories. She and her team are establishing Cell Medica’s state-of-art GMP manufacturing process for cell therapy production while also optimising the product release and quality systems. Katy is leading the development of our second generation cell therapies aimed at CMV and adenovirus infections.

    Katy completed a BSc in Biochemistry with Applied Molecular Biology at UMIST in Manchester before coming to London to study for a PhD in Immunology and Vaccinology at the Institute of Child Health. (BSc, PhD University College London)