Vittoria Biotherapeutics names new COO

Vittoria Biotherapeutics, a clinical-stage cell therapy company, recently named Keith Westby as the company’s first chief operating officer.

“We’re thrilled to have Keith join our team,” Dr. Nicholas Siciliano, Vittoria CEO, said. “His impressive track record and dedication to the discovery and development of innovative treatments for challenging diseases will provide a crucial layer of expertise to Vittoria’s executive team as we initiate first-in-human studies for our lead program. We’re excited to partner with Keith on our mission to develop pioneering CAR-T therapies for indications with significant unmet medical needs.”

Westby has more than two decades of biotechnology entrepreneurial experience. He manage the advancement of Vittoria’s therapeutics.

Westby previously served as Iveric Bio chief operating officer, Pharmasset Inc. director of program and alliance management, and Eyetech Pharmaceuticals director of program and alliance management.

Westby has degrees in applied physics and engineering management as well as a MBA from Columbia Business School.

Vittoria Biotherapeutics is developing CAR-T cell therapies. Its proprietary cell therapy engineering and manufacturing platform, Senza5, is licensed from the University of Pennsylvania.

Senza5 combines genetic engineering to unlock the antitumor potential of engineered T cells and a proprietary five-day manufacturing process to maximize stemness, durability, and target cell cytotoxicity.