SAN DIEGO, June 16, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fate Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:FATE), a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of programmed cellular immunotherapies for cancer and immune disorders, announced today that it will host a Focus Session entitled "Fighting Cancer with Off-the-Shelf iPSC Immunotherapies" at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) on Wednesday, June 22, 2016 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. PT in San Francisco, California. 

The Focus Session, which will kick off this year's annual meeting of ISSCR, will include a detailed review of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology and highlight recent advancements by Fate Therapeutics and others in the development of engineered off-the-shelf NK- and T-cell cancer immunotherapies. The session will span basic research to clinical development and will cover the genetic engineering of pluripotent cells, the derivation and expansion of single pluripotent cell clones, and the generation of off-the-shelf NK and T cells with enhanced effector functions from pluripotent cells.  Speakers participating in the session include:

• Rudolf Jaenisch, M.D., Professor of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Member of Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
• Dan Kaufman, M.D., Ph.D., ‎Professor, Department of Medicine and Director of Cell Therapy Program, University of California-San Diego
• Michel Sadelain, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Center for Cell Engineering and the incumbent of the Stephen and Barbara Friedman Chair at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
• Daniel Shoemaker, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Fate Therapeutics, Inc.
• Bob Valamehr, Ph.D., Executive Director, Cancer Immunotherapy, Fate Therapeutics, Inc.

Additionally, key data presentations by scientists from Fate Therapeutics at ISSCR include:

Title: "Derivation of Natural Killer Cells from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells for Universal Off-the-Shelf Tumor Immunotherapy"
Abstract Number: F2130
Presenter: Ryan Bjordahl, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Reprogramming Biology
Date/Time: Friday, June 24, 7:00 p.m. PT
Location: Moscone — Level 1, Exhibition & Poster Hall

Title: "The Scalable Derivation of Off-the-Shelf and Genetically-Enhanced Hematopoietic Cellular Therapeutics from Naïve Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells"
Abstract Number: W2131
Presenter: Raedun Clarke, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Hematopoietic Differentiation
Date/Time: Wednesday, June 22, 6:30 p.m. PT
Location: Moscone — Level 1, Exhibition & Poster Hall

Title: "Evaluation of Multiple Safe Guard System for Improved Safety Profile of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Derived Cellular Therapeutics"
Abstract Number: F3034
Presenter: Ramzey Abujarour, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Reprogramming Biology
Date/Time: Friday, June 24, 7:00 p.m. PT
Location: Moscone — Level 1, Exhibition & Poster Hall

The Focus Session materials and the data presentations will be available for review on the Company's website at www.fatetherapeutics.com following the conclusion of the ISSCR Annual Meeting.

About Fate Therapeutics, Inc.
Fate Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of programmed cellular immunotherapies for cancer and immune disorders. The Company's cell therapy pipeline is comprised of immuno-oncology programs, including off-the-shelf NK- and T-cell cancer immunotherapies derived from engineered induced pluripotent cells, and immuno-regulatory programs, including hematopoietic cell immunotherapies for protecting the immune system of patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation and for regulating autoimmunity. Its adoptive cell therapy programs are based on the Company's novel ex vivo cell programming approach, which it applies to modulate the therapeutic function and direct the fate of immune cells. Fate Therapeutics is headquartered in San Diego, CA. For more information, please visit www.fatetherapeutics.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the Company's progress and plans related to its adoptive immunotherapy programs and the therapeutic potential of cancer immunotherapies derived from engineered induced pluripotent cells. These and any other forward-looking statements in this release are based on management's current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk that results observed in prior studies, including preclinical studies of its product candidates, will not be observed in ongoing or future studies involving these product candidates, the risk that the Company may cease or delay preclinical or clinical development activities for any of its existing or future product candidates for a variety of reasons, the risk that any off-the-shelf NK- and T-cell therapies developed by the Company may not be suitable for therapeutic applications, and the risk that product candidates developed by the Company may not provide the anticipated therapeutic benefits. For a discussion of other risks and uncertainties, and other important factors, any of which could cause our actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see the risks and uncertainties detailed in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the Company's most recently filed periodic report, and from time to time the Company's other investor communications. Fate Therapeutics is providing the information in this release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contact:
Jesse Baumgartner
Stern Investor Relations, Inc. 
212.362.1200
jesse@sternir.com