CoRegen, Inc. Strengthens Leadership Team with the Appointments of Sonja Nelson as Chief Financial Officer and Peter Gelinas as Chief Technical Officer

HOUSTON, Sept. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CoRegen, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company pursuing novel treatments for patients impacted by some of the most aggressive forms of cancer, today announced the appointments of Sonja Nelson as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Peter Gelinas as Chief Technical Officer (CTO). Together, these appointments will further the company’s mission of pioneering next-generation treatments designed to eliminate cancer as we know it and redefine what’s possible in modern medicine.

"The appointments of Sonja Nelson and Peter Gelinas reinforce CoRegen’s commitment to advancing life-changing oncology therapies, and on behalf of the company I am excited to welcome them to the executive team," said Suneet Varma, Chairman of the Board, CoRegen. "With Sonja’s extensive background and financial acumen to aid our strategic growth, and Peter’s proven expertise leading technical operations including IND-enabling CMC requirements across cell and gene therapy, we remain well positioned to advance our lead candidate for the treatment of solid-tumors into a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in the first half of 2026. I’d also like to thank John Thomas for managing the responsibilities of CFO to date with steady leadership, helping sustain our mission for patients impacted by the most devastating forms of cancer. "

“I am thrilled to be joining CoRegen at an exciting moment in the company’s growth to help shape its strategic direction,” added Nelson. “CoRegen’s innovative approach, backed by award winning science, has immense potential in reshaping cancer treatment on a global scale.”

“I am honored to join the incredible leaders and scientists on the CoRegen team and bring my experience in technical, operational, and regulatory foundations to this new role,” added Gelinas. “I look forward to accelerating the development of transformative cancer therapies efficiently and at scale for patients in need.”

About Sonja Nelson
Ms. Nelson is a finance executive with more than 25 years of experience across public and private sectors, including more than 13 years in biotech with a focus on early- to clinical-stage oncology companies. Most recently, she served as the CFO of Ambrx Biopharma where she led the company through multiple fundraises and critical stages of growth prior to their $2 billion acquisition by J&J and follow on integration work. Prior to that, Ms. Nelson served as CFO of NantKwest , which reverse-merged with ImmunityBio, and she held varying roles of responsibility at AltheaDx, Cadence Pharmaceuticals, and Cricket Communications. Earlier in her career, Sonja worked in public accounting with KPMG, in both the US and Europe, and the financial services sector.

About Peter Gelinas
Mr. Gelinas is a biotechnology executive with more than 15 years of experience leading CMC and technical operations in cell and gene therapy companies. He has advanced programs from Phase I through commercialization, building global manufacturing networks, driving regulatory filings, and leading high-performing technical organizations. Most recently, Mr. Gelinas served as Senior Vice President of CMC (chemistry, manufacturing and controls) at AffyImmune Therapeutics, where he led strategy for a first-in-class autologous CAR-T therapy. Previously, he was Vice President and Head of Manufacturing & Technical Operations at ElevateBio, overseeing operations across a broad portfolio of autologous and allogeneic cell and gene therapies. Earlier, in senior leadership roles at bluebird bio, Peter played a key role in bringing the first-in-class gene therapies SKYSONA™ and ZYNTEGLO™ to market, leading process validation (PPQ), global technology transfers, and regulatory submissions to secured FDA and EMA global approvals.

About CoRegen
CoRegen is pioneering a novel approach to cancer treatment by targeting the SRC-3 gene in Regulatory T (Treg) cells, a type of adoptive cell therapy (ACT), enabling the immune system to recognize and eliminate solid tumors. Research from the O’Malley Lab at Baylor College of Medicine has shown that genetically modifying Treg cells alters their behavior, allowing them to penetrate tumors, release cytokines, and recruit immune cells to eradicate tumors in preclinical models.

About Baylor College of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine is a health sciences university that creates knowledge and applies science and discoveries to further education, healthcare, and community service locally and globally. Dr. Bert O’Malley is the Tom Thompson Distinguished Leadership Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Chancellor at Baylor College of Medicine.

About Adoptive Cell Therapy (ACT)
Adoptive Cell Therapy (ACT) is a form of immunotherapy in which a patient's own immune cells (or those from a donor) are collected, modified or expanded outside the body, and then infused back into the patient to help the immune system fight diseases, such as cancer.

About Regulatory T (Treg) Cells
Regulatory T (Treg) cells are a specialized subset of T cells, which are part of the immune system. Their primary role is to maintain immune system balance by suppressing excessive immune responses and preventing autoimmune diseases, where the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues. However, these Treg cells can also be co-opted by cancers to evade attack by the immune system, leading to tumor progression and metastatic disease. CoRegen engineers Treg cells so the cancer cells can no longer evade the body’s immune system, freeing the immune system to attack and eliminate the cancer cells.

Media Contact:
Andrew Mielach
LifeSci Communications
amielach@lifescicomms.com

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