Oryon Cell Therapies Appoints Kenny Choi, Ph.D. as Chief Technical Officer to Scale Autologous Neuron Replacement Manufacturing
核心洞察
Oryon Cell Therapies (搜索) has appointed Kenny Choi, Ph.D., as Chief Technical Officer to lead technical operations and CMC strategy for its autologous neuron replacement medicines.
Dr. Choi brings more than fifteen years of cell therapy manufacturing experience, contributing to over a dozen INDs and three BLAs for autologous cell therapies.
He will oversee transfer of the autologous iPSC-derived dopaminergic neuron manufacturing process from Mass General Brigham (搜索) to Oryon's own facilities for late-stage development and commercial launch.
Oryon Cell Therapies (搜索), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing autologous neuron replacement medicines for Parkinson's disease (搜索) and other neurodegenerative disorders, has appointed Kenny Choi, Ph.D., as Chief Technical Officer (CTO). Dr. Choi will lead Oryon's technical operations and Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) strategy, including transfer of the manufacturing process for the company's autologous iPSC-derived dopaminergic neuron therapy from Mass General Brigham (搜索) (MGB) to Oryon's own manufacturing facilities, and building the capabilities required for late-stage clinical development and commercial launch.
A Pivotal Manufacturing Transition
Dr. Choi brings more than fifteen years of experience in technical operations, process development and CMC strategy for cell therapies. He has built and scaled technical organizations from early development through commercial readiness and has directly contributed to more than a dozen cell and gene therapy INDs and three Biologics License Applications (BLAs) for autologous cell therapies.
"Kenny joins Oryon at a pivotal point in the development of our autologous neuron replacement therapy," said Ron Cohen, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Oryon. "We are moving from an academic manufacturing environment to manufacturing at the scale needed for later-stage clinical development and commercialization. Kenny's hands-on and leadership experience in cell process and analytical development, facility build-out, regulatory submissions and commercial readiness make him exceptionally well suited to lead this effort."
Industry Leadership Background
Dr. Choi joins Oryon from Arcellx, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Gilead, where he served as Vice President, CMC, leading process development, CMC program management and external manufacturing sciences. He previously held technical leadership roles at Instil Bio, Mustang Bio (搜索) and Kite Pharma (搜索), a Gilead company, spanning process and analytical development, automation, technology transfer, facility build-out and CDMO partnership management across sites in the United States and Europe. He began his career in cell therapy at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
"I was drawn to Oryon by the rigor of the science, the clinical data, and the opportunity to help move Parkinson's treatment beyond symptom management," said Dr. Choi. "I look forward to working with the Oryon team to build a manufacturing platform that will advance this therapy through clinical development, and deliver it to all patients who can benefit."
Dr. Choi holds a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Washington and a doctorate in Systems Engineering from George Washington University.
Clinical Program Status
Oryon's lead program currently is being evaluated in a Phase 1/2a clinical trial assessing autologous dopaminergic neuron replacement therapy in people with Parkinson's disease (搜索). Interim data presented at the AD/PD™ 2026 International Conference in Copenhagen showed sustained motor improvements in all treated participants.
Oryon's technology is designed to restore synaptic function and motor control by replacing neurons lost to the disease, with the goal of achieving functional restoration.