Sonoma Biotherapeutics' Fred Ramsdell Receives 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

We congraulate Dr. Frederick Jay Ramsdell, scientific co-founder, former Chief Scientific Officer, and current Scientific Advisory Board Chair of Sonoma Biotherapeutics, Inc., on being awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his groundbreaking contributions to regulatory T cell (Treg) biology and cell therapy.

Dr. Ramsdell’s pioneering research has fundamentally transformed our understanding of immune tolerance and opened new therapeutic pathways for patients suffering from autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. His work exemplifies the kind of visionary science that can change the trajectory of medicine.

Following a fellowship at the NIH, Dr. Ramsdell joined Immunex studying T cell activation and tolerance, with a focus on gene discovery and functional characterization. He later joined Darwin Molecular (which was later acquired by Celltech R&D) to establish the immunology program. Amongst other programs, he led the team that discovered and characterized FoxP3, a gene critical to the function of regulatory T cells. Dr. Ramsdell joined ZymoGenetics in 2004, where he led teams studying novel proteins with potential regulatory activity in lymphoid cells. In 2008, Novo Nordisk brought on Dr. Ramsdell to help establish the company’s new Inflammation Research Center in Seattle and lead the Immunobiology group.

Prior to SonomaBio, Dr. Ramsdell was the CSO at the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI) where he helped to build and advance multiple research programs from the inception of the Institute.

At Vertex Ventures HC, we’ve been proud partners of Sonoma Biotherapeutics since our Series B investment in 2021. Sonoma is translating Dr. Ramsdell’s Nobel-winning insights into engineered Treg therapies now advancing through clinical development, with the potential to restore immune balance for patients with severe autoimmune conditions…