Brian Stamper Appointed Vice President, Cell Therapy Operations at Immunomic Therapeutics
Brian Stamper recently joined Immunomic Therapeutics, Inc. as Vice President, Cell Therapy Operations. Brian has over 20 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, including increasingly responsible management positions in various operational areas including cell therapy operations, biotechnology manufacturing, and process engineering.
He was most recently Sr. Director, Manufacturing at Kite Pharma, a global biopharmaceutical company whose focus is cell therapy to treat and cure cancer. In addition to his over three years with Kite Pharma, Brian has held positions of increasing responsibility at Lonza Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology, AstraZeneca Biologics, and Eli Lilly & Company. He holds a Master of Biotechnology Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Degree (MBEE) from Johns Hopkins University, a Master of Science Degree in Biologics Engineering from Purdue University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biochemistry from Indiana University.
BioBuzz caught up with Brian to learn more about how he landed this new role and what he’s most excited about.
Reflect a bit on your career path up to this new position – how has your previous experiences at Kite, Lonza, AstraZeneca, etc. prepared you for this new role at Immunomic?
Very early in my career, my father gave me advice that I still use to this day: ‘Be ready for the next step’. While I did not know that my next step would be this role at ITI, I do feel that I have picked up learning from each of my previous experiences that has helped prepare me for this new role. One common element from all of those experiences that I have learned is the importance of active collaboration and maintaining a high level of respect for people. I truly believe everyone comes to work to do a good job, and one of the most important aspects of leadership is focusing that energy on the right areas.
What’s the story of how you landed this new position? What drove you to make the jump from Kite?
Leaving Kite was the hardest professional decision I have ever had to make. Kite does so many amazing things for patients, and is a very special place that I would recommend to anybody. During the interview process for this role, my wife and I both asked loads of questions about ITI including the leadership, technology, and culture of the place to make absolutely sure this was the right move. At the end of it all, I came to realize that this was exactly the opportunity I was looking for: a chance to join a growing organization focused on cancer cell therapy where I can help the team make the leap to the next phase.
What are you most looking forward to in this new role? What impact are you hoping to have in the next 6 months to a year?
While there are many aspects of ITI and the role about which to be excited, I am most looking forward to working with the team to progress the CMC activities for the product portfolio and move ever closer to serving glioblastoma patients. ITI has had a lot of success up to this point, and I hope to leverage my operations experience as ITI moves into the next phase. This is such an exciting time for ITI, and I feel fortunate to be able to play a part in it.
How do you think this role will challenge you and help you grow?
Up to this point, I have only ever worked for large and established companies where there is always someone you can ask for support. Here, we have the opportunity to create the operations from scratch and to figure things out as we go. That will be the biggest and most rewarding challenge for me, and will definitely push me out of my comfort zone. Fortunately, the team is completely dedicated to progressing the pipeline and with this high and focused energy I am confident we will get there!
Read the full press release: https://www.immunomix.com/immunomic-therapeutics-appoints-vice-president-cell-therapy/
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