Enara Bio, a biopharmaceutical company pioneering bispecific T-cell engagers directed against Dark Antigen® targets, has strengthened its senior leadership team with two key appointments as the company prepares to advance its lead assets toward clinical development. The Oxford-based company announced the appointment of Stacey Davis as Chief Business Officer and Chief Financial Officer, alongside the addition of Clive Wood, Ph.D., to its board as Non-executive Director.
Strategic Leadership Addition
Davis brings over 25 years of experience in delivering growth, innovation, and strategic transformation across the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. She most recently served as Chief Business Officer at Xilio Therapeutics, where she architected a series of major pharmaceutical collaborations. Her previous roles span senior leadership positions at Novartis Oncology, Johnson & Johnson, and Prominex, covering business development, corporate strategy, and commercial functions.
"A growing body of clinical evidence is driving momentum behind the pursuit of novel solid tumor targets, creating further interest in collaborations around Enara's novel antigen discovery platform and pipeline of TCR-based immunotherapies," said Kevin Pojasek, Ph.D., President & Chief Executive Officer of Enara Bio. "Stacey will play a crucial role in shaping our business development and capital strategy, strengthening our ability to forge strategic partnerships and secure the funds needed to accelerate our promising pipeline."
Davis expressed enthusiasm about joining the company, stating: "I am truly excited to join Enara, a company built on the highest quality science at the forefront of the potentially transformative field of Dark Antigens. With the support of its world-class leadership team, investors and board, I believe Enara is strongly positioned to progress a pipeline of truly differentiated therapies that could offer significant benefit to patients with solid tumors."
Scientific Expertise Joins Board
Wood brings over three decades of scientific leadership and drug discovery expertise in advancing innovative treatments across oncology and inflammation. Currently serving as a Venture Partner at OrbiMed, he previously held the position of Global Head of Discovery Research at Boehringer Ingelheim. His earlier roles included Head of Global Biologics at Bayer HealthCare and Chief Scientific Officer at Dyax Corp.
Among Wood's notable scientific accomplishments is his discovery of the PD-1: PD-L1/PD-L2 pathway, a breakthrough that has become fundamental to modern cancer immunotherapy. He holds B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from Imperial College London.
Robert Ang, Ph.D., Chair of Enara Bio, welcomed the appointment: "I am very pleased to welcome Clive to the board. He is a talented and highly respected leader who brings decades of scientific and R&D leadership experience to Enara. He has a compelling industry track record, including most recently at Boehringer Ingelheim where he was instrumental in building the research organization and advancing a pipeline of innovative therapeutics designed to transform patient outcomes."
Wood noted his previous engagement with Enara through Boehringer Ingelheim's collaboration with the company: "During my time at Boehringer Ingelheim, I had the opportunity to engage with Enara through a longstanding and successful collaboration and I am excited by the potential of Dark Antigens as a novel class of cancer targets. The decision to join the board was an easy one, and I am looking forward to supporting Enara's continued growth and progress."
Dark Antigen Platform Technology
Enara Bio's proprietary EDAPT® platform enables the discovery of cancer-specific antigens from previously uncharted genomic 'dark matter', resulting in a growing library of Dark Antigens that address the need for novel, cancer-specific targets in solid tumors. The company's internal focus centers on developing TCR-directed immunotherapies against Dark Antigen targets that are highly prevalent and homogenously expressed across solid tumors.
The company has established a partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim, which is combining multiple Dark Antigens to create off-the-shelf therapeutic cancer vaccines. Enara Bio is backed by a syndicate of life science investors including RA Capital, Pfizer Ventures, M Ventures, Samsara BioCapital, and SV Health Investors.
