About
We are building on an exciting lead development program, strong scientific pedigree, experienced leadership, and support from blue-chip venture investors, we recently raised a $30M series A financing from Westlake Village BioPartners and Avalon Ventures to advance our lead immuno-oncology program into the clinic in 2022 and build an R&D portfolio around it.
Our team is led by CEO Chris Griffith and CBO Virginia Finnerty-Brooks, who successfully executed a similar business plan in the immunology and dermatology field at Dermira, which was acquired by Eli Lilly for >$1B in 2020; director Neil Gibson, PhD, who, as CSO of biologics at Avalon Ventures’ COI Pharmaceuticals, founded Adanate and developed the company’s foundational technology and who previously served as CSO and therapeutic area head of Pfizer Oncology with responsibility for target selection through clinical proof-of-concept; and chairman Beth Seidenberg, MD, who, during her time as managing director of Westlake Village BioPartners and general partner of Kleiner Perkins, has invested in and incubated more than 20 biotech ventures and who previously served as CMO and head of global development at Amgen.
Our lead program (ADA-011) is a monoclonal antibody targeting a novel family of immune checkpoint receptors called leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptors B (LILRB). Originally studied in the context of maternal-fetal tolerance, LILRB serve as receptors for major histocompatibility complex class 1 (MHC1) ligands responsible for modulating interactions between antigen-presenting and immune cells that drive both adaptive and innate immune responses. We and others have demonstrated that modulation of LILRB-MHC1 interactions can reduce immunosuppression and restore immune surveillance and developed strong preclinical and preliminary clinical evidence of antitumor activity. ADA-011 is differentiated from other programs in this field by virtue of a unique selectivity profile that supports a strong biological rationale for efficacy as monotherapy and in combination with other immune checkpoint inhibitors. We are preparing to initiate clinical development of ADA-011 in 2022.
For more information while our site is under construction, please contact us via info@Adanate.com.
