Industry Veterans Appointed to Head the Global Technical Operations and Clinical Development Organizations at Kite

-- Charles Calderaro and Ken Takeshita, MD to Join Kite’s Leadership Team --

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 21, 2019-- Kite, a Gilead Company (Nasdaq: GILD), today announced two new additions to the company’s leadership team. Charles Calderaro will join Kite as Global Head of Technical Operations, and Ken Takeshita, MD will join as Global Head of Clinical Development. Both Mr. Calderaro and Dr. Takeshita will report directly to Christi Shaw, Chief Executive Officer of Kite.

“Innovation in manufacturing and scientific advancement are dually critical to the delivery and continued progress of cell therapy,” said Ms. Shaw. “We are pleased to welcome Charles and Ken, whose deep and diverse experience will bolster Kite’s leadership in cell therapy and ensure that we are best positioned to meet the needs of patients now and well into the future.”

Mr. Calderaro will be responsible for leading all aspects of Kite’s technical operations, including process development, manufacturing, supply chain management, quality assurance and end-to-end optimization for the company’s commercial and pipeline products, effective December 9, 2019. He joins Kite from BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., where he currently holds the position of Senior Vice President, Global Manufacturing and is responsible for the strategic oversight and leadership of the company’s international operations network. Previous to this, Mr. Calderaro was the Vice President of Technical Product Management at Genentech leading the CMC life cycle management of the company’s small molecule product portfolio in Basel, Switzerland.

“I am impressed with Kite’s R&D and manufacturing excellence, which have had a dramatic impact on the treatment of cancer and really helped set the company apart,” said Mr. Calderaro. “I look forward to bringing my experience to the company and to working with the many talented individuals dedicated to changing the way this disease is treated.”

Dr. Takeshita will head Kite’s cell therapy clinical development organization, including the company’s pipeline in solid tumor research, effective December 3, 2019. He joins Kite from Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc., where he is currently Senior Vice President, Clinical Research, responsible for clinical development strategy in oncology. His previous experience includes many years at Celgene Corporation, where he was Corporate Vice President for Clinical R&D and the Therapeutic Area Head for Lymphoma and CLL.

“It is a privilege to have the opportunity to contribute to Kite’s industry-leading cell therapy clinical development program,” said Dr. Takeshita. “I am excited by the company’s pipeline and consistent commitment to next-generation science, and look forward to helping further the team’s collective mission.”

About Kite

Kite, a Gilead Company, is a biopharmaceutical company based in Santa Monica, California. Kite is engaged in the development of innovative cancer immunotherapies. The company is focused on chimeric antigen receptor and T cell receptor engineered cell therapies. For more information on Kite, please visit www.kitepharma.com.

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a research-based biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes innovative medicines in areas of unmet medical need. The company strives to transform and simplify care for people with life-threatening illnesses around the world. Gilead has operations in more than 35 countries worldwide, with headquarters in Foster City, California. For more information on Gilead Sciences, please visit the company’s website at www.gilead.com.

For more information on Kite, please visit the company’s website at www.kitepharma.com. Learn more about Gilead at www.gilead.com, follow Gilead on Twitter (@GileadSciences) or call Gilead Public Affairs at 1-800-GILEAD-5 or 1-650-574-3000.