Two Top Executives Leave Atara Biotherapeutics

Atara Biotherapeutics Inc. late Friday announced the departures of Dr. Christopher Haqq, chief scientific officer, and Mina Kim, general counsel and head of corporate strategy. The company, which is headquartered in South San Francisco but has its major T-cell manufacturing operations in Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks for cancer therapy, has not announced new appointees for these roles. “As the first Atara employee, Chris was instrumental in our incredible progress and most important milestones,” Pascal Touchon, chief executive of Atara, said in a statement. “He decided to leave Atara to pursue an outside opportunity with a private company that aligns with his other scientific interests and the current needs of his family.” Haqq will continue to work with Atara in an advisory role for at least six months. Dr. Blake Aftab, head of pre-clinical and translational research under Haqq, will report directly to Touchon moving forward. “Mina has built the legal team with both talent and capabilities,” added Touchon of the former general counsel and corporate strategist for Atara. “She has decided to join a private technology company and will remain in an advisory role through March 2020.”