JHU spinout WindMIL Therapeutics expands to Philly, adds two new executives

Johns Hopkins spinout WindMIL Therapeutics is opening a new office in Philadelphia as the biotech company expands its leadership team.
The startup, which specializes in cell therapy to treat cancer, has a new office and meeting space in Philly’s University City. As our sister site Technical.ly Philly has reported, the area is home to a massive development effort that seeks to mix anchor institutions and startups. WindMIL’s office is located within One Drexel Plaza, where it will be close to talent in that area as it looks to expand executive, operations and clinical teams.
As CEO Brian Halak put it in a statement, “Establishing an office in Philadelphia provides a hub for WindMIL’s local operations.”
As part of the growing executive team, the company named a pair of new hires:

• Monil Shah will join as chief development officer. In 20 years working in oncology drug development, he served in roles including COO of Brooklyn ImmunoTherapeutics and in a key immuno-oncology role at Bristol-Myers Squibb.
• Patrick Dougherty was appointed vice president of operations. He previously worked at pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline as senior vice president of the R&D pipeline for pharmaceuticals.

WindMIL drew attention in June, when it closed a $32.5 million funding round. Along with the new location, the company is based in Johns Hopkins FastForward 1812, where its science team utilizes the available lab space.
Three-year-old WindMIL Therapeutics was founded by Johns Hopkins faculty members Ivan Borrello and Kim Noonan. It’s one of a number of startups working in the field of cancer immunotherapy, which involves creating treatments that harness the body’s own immune system to fight the disease. WindMIL seeks to activate Memory T cells, which are derived from bone marrow, to develop new therapies.