Leading cancer biologists and entrepreneurs join Enedra Therapeutics as cofounders

Published date:
April 12 2023

Enedra Therapeutics, a London-based therapeutics company, today announced that it is adding a number of seasoned industry executives as cofounders, bringing extensive expertise in cancer biology, drug discovery and corporate strategy to the team. The extensive credentials of the new team are validation of the pioneering work that Enedra is undertaking to develop the next generation of cancer-selective therapies that defy tumour heterogeneity. Tumour heterogeneity presents a formidable challenge to cancer treatment.

Andreas Ballis, the CEO of Enedra Therapeutics, is joined by new cofounders Keith Blundy, former CEO of Storm Therapeutics and Cancer Research Technology Limited (now Cancer Research Horizons, the innovation arm of Cancer Research UK); Ian Collins, scientific cofounder of Monte Rosa Therapeutics and previously Head of Medicinal Chemistry at the Institute of Cancer Research, who has developed many clinical drug candidates; and Tim Hammonds, former VP Drug Discovery at Entact Bio and ex-Deputy Director of Drug Discovery at Cancer Research UK’s Therapeutic Discovery Laboratories, who has extensive experience in creating drug discovery platforms. Keith Blundy will also assume the role of Chairman of the Board.

The team is supported by an advisory board comprising Ian Waddell (CEO of Nodus Oncology, CSO of Cumulus and former CSO of Charles River Laboratories), Alex Gutteridge (a leading computational biologist previously at GSK and Pfizer), Anguraj Sadanandam (Director, Centre for Global Oncology at the Institute of Cancer Research, and a pioneer in molecular subtyping of cancer using machine learning and AI models), and Nicky McGranahan (University College London, and a leading expert in the genetics of cancer evolution). Enedra Therapeutics was created through a partnership between Deep Science Ventures and Cancer Research Horizons.

Chromosomal instability is the driving force of cancer’s ability to adapt to therapeutics and external stresses. As a consequence of an unstable genome, these cancer cells must rely on survival mechanisms which are not typically vital to normal cells. With this insight, Enedra has developed a technology platform, CASPAROV, to evaluate thousands of cancer models to measure the ongoing rate of chromosomal instability and tumour heterogeneity generation. This was combined with evaluation of individual genes using CRISPR and RNAi data, to identify those which were vital for survival specifically in cancer cells, as well as patient-specific biomarkers that could determine response to treatment.

Keith Blundy says, “Myself and the other new cofounders were compelled by the capabilities of Enedra’s platform to identify targets that will stop cancer evolution, the driver of poor survival outcomes. We all look forward to generating a differentiated and patient-targeted portfolio of potential new drugs.”

Andreas Ballis, CEO of Enedra Therapeutics, says: “We are incredibly excited to welcome Keith, Ian and Tim to the Enedra Therapeutics founding team. Together they have prosecuted over 100 drug discovery projects and raised tens of millions of venture investment. We look forward to bringing their wealth of experience to bear on the novel targets revealed by Enedra’s CASPAROV platform.”

About Edendra Therapeutics

Enedra Therapeutics is a company that develops novel cancer personalised medicines to treat heterogeneous tumours, a key cause of drug resistance and therapeutic failure. Enedra’s unique platform, CASPAROV harnesses the genetic heterogeneity of tumours to turn cancer from a heterogeneous disease to one that can be treated with personalised medicines. Enedra was founded through investment from Deep Science Ventures and Cancer Research Horizons. Enedra is now scaling up to develop the first drug pipeline that is designed to address heterogeneity in multiple cancers, offering hope to millions of cancer patients.

For more information, visit https://enedratx.com/

About Deep Science Ventures

Deep Science Ventures is creating a future where humanity and the planet thrive, combining available scientific knowledge and founder-type scientists into high-impact ventures. Deep Science Ventures operates in 4 sectors: Agriculture, Climate, Computation and Pharmaceuticals, tackling the challenges defining those areas by taking a first-principles approach and partnering with leading institutions.

For more information, visit https://deepscienceventures.com/

About Cancer Research Horizons

Cancer Research Horizons is the innovation arm of Cancer Research UK – one of the world’s largest charitable funders of cancer research. We bring together world-leading minds, bold ideas and the right partners to bridge the gap between research and introducing new therapeutics into the market. We focus on the riskier, more profound ideas that can lead to true innovation.

By uniting our commercial partnerships and therapeutic innovation capabilities, Cancer Research Horizons is uniquely placed to support translational funding, licensing and collaboration, spin out creation, and offer a full spectrum of drug discovery and clinical capabilities. With access to Cancer Research UK’s network of 4,000 exceptional researchers, and £300+ million of annual research spend, we’re a powerful partner in the fight to conquer cancer.  Every penny we make goes back into funding the next bold steps, to help bring forward the day when all cancers are conquered. To date, we’ve played an instrumental role in forming over 60 spin-out companies and helped to bring 11 cancer drugs to market.

For more information and to get in touch with the team, visit https://cancerresearchhorizons.com

Contact

Noah Geeves
Head of Marketing, Deep Science Ventures
[email protected]