About IngenOx
IngenOx Therapeutics is a biopharma advancing a clinical and pre-clinical pipeline of precision therapies and vaccines for different cancer indications.
Executive Team
Professor Nick La Thangue
MA MSc PhD FRSE FMedSci
Chief Executive Officer
Nick has over 30 years of experience in biotech, leadership, entrepreneurship, translational cancer science and drug development. He founded Prolifix focused on cell cycle therapeutics, where he acted as CSO and CEO until its merger with TopoTarget which led to a highly successful IPO. He founded Celleron Therapeutics and Argonaut Therapeutics, acting as CEO for each company, and led their merger in 2022 to form IngenOx. He has been CEO at IngenOx Therapeutics developing precision cancer drugs since the company was formed. Nick is Professor of Cancer Biology at Oxford University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Academy of Medical Sciences, the European Academy of Cancer Science, the Lister Institute and Professorial Fellow of Linacre College Oxford. He has over 200 publications and is an inventor on an extensive number of patents.
Professor David Kerr
CBE MA MD DSc FRCP FRCGP FACP FESMO FMedSci
Chief Medical Officer
David is a senior clinician with more than 30 years experience in cancer treatment. He has a strong record in clinical research and has built numerous life sciences companies over the years, including Cobra, Therexsys, Oxford Cancer Biomarkers, IngenOx and SynOx Therapeutics. David contributes to Oxford as Professor of Cancer Medicine and Consultant Medical Oncologist, where he has worked with colleagues to build a new Institute for Cancer Medicine and Cancer Hospital. He is an Honorary Professor of Oncology in Sichuan, Suchow, Xiamen, Shanghai, Zhejiang and Oslo Universities. He has published over 400 papers and has an H-Index > 100 associated with over 50,000 citations, placing him in the top 1-2% of cancer researchers in the world. He was elected President of the European Society of Medical Oncology in 2010. He is Editor in Chief of The Oxford Textbooks of Oncology and Cancer Biology, was Editor in Chief of Annals of Oncology, established the Journal of Global Oncology and leads a new course in Oxford on Global Health Diplomacy.
Shonagh Munro
PhD
Research Director
Shonagh has two decades of scientific research experience, initially at the University Dundee where she gained a PhD in biochemistry, then subsequently at the University of Oxford where she undertook postdoctoral studies in the Department of Oncology. She brings to the company a deep biological understanding and key technological expertise. She has numerous high-impact publications focusing on the mechanisms of cancer cell growth and death. In her role as research director at IngenOx she leads the scientific team in discovering and developing new precision cancer therapeutics.
Collette Coll
MBA
Operations Director
Collette is a qualified and experienced business leader. She has held several management positions in both industry and academia throughout her career. Collette has held Operations Director positions in a number of University of Oxford spin-out companies over much of the past decade. She demonstrates leadership in strategic planning and implementation of cross-functional corporate and business activities.
Shawn S Zheng
DPhil MBA FRSB
Science and Innovation Director
Shawn is a management professional with extensive scientific and business experience across multiple Oxford University spinouts, including IngenOx, Celleron, Argonaut, and SynOx Therapeutics. He was a principal investigator at MSD / A*STAR Singapore where he led a cancer drug discovery programme and published articles in top-tier research journals listed in the Nature Index. Shawn received his DPhil / PhD in Oncology at the University of Oxford and underwent post-doctoral training with Sir David Lane FRS. He received his MBA from the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge, specialising in biopharma management. He is a Visiting Researcher at the Department of Oncology, University of Oxford and an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology.
Simon Cook
MSc CSci MIBMS
Clinical Research Director
Simon Cook is a Chartered Scientist and Member of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences, with 36 years of experience in running international clinical trials in all phases (I-IV). Initially graduating in Pharmacology from the University of Strathclyde, he has since become a specialist in the management of commercial drug development to GCP standards and has written two books on the subject. He began his career with manufacturers such as Beechams (now GSK) and then crossed into the CRO business: managing clinical trials at companies such as G H Besselaar Associates (now Covance), Quintiles (now IQVIA), and Kendle International (now Syneos Health). Since 2016 he has specialised in researching novel anti-cancer agents within the biotech sector, at IngenOx Therapeutics, Oxford; and latterly SynOx Therapeutics.
Wojciech Barczak
MSc, PhD
Translational Research Director
As Director of Translational Research, Wojciech is responsible for the development of the Company’s cancer vaccine program. Wojciech’s extensive scientific expertise in pre-clinical studies includes everything from in-vitro and in-vivo experiments to project management. Prior to joining IngenOx, he gained experience in cancer epigenetics, immuno-oncology, and translational science as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Oxford, which resulted in multiple high-impact publications. His research focused on the development of novel non-coding genome-derived cancer vaccines and the effects of small molecule epigenetic regulators on cancer cells. Wojciech received his Master and PhD training in cancer biology at the Poznan University of Medical Sciences. He also holds a Visiting Researcher position at the Department of Oncology, University of Oxford.
Board of Directors
Patrick Soon-Shiong
MD
Chairman
Patrick Soon-Shiong, M.D. is an internationally recognized surgeon, scientist, inventor, and philanthropist with over 500 patents issued worldwide and the author of more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications. He serves as the Executive Chairman of ImmunityBio, a company he founded in 2014. He also serves as Chairman and CEO of NantHealth (NASDAQ:NH), a transformational healthcare company converging biomolecular medicine and bioinformatics with deep learning AI. Dr. Soon-Shiong is also the Owner and Executive Chairman of the Los Angeles Times. Dr. Soon-Shiong serves as Chairman of the Chan Soon-Shiong Family Foundation and of the Chan Soon-Shiong Institute of Molecular Medicine.
Since the 1990s Dr. Soon-Shiong founded and led global pharmaceutical companies, American Pharmaceutical Partners and Abraxis BioScience, the latter of which is where he developed Abraxane, the first protein nanoparticle drug for breast, lung, and pancreatic cancer. The drug has achieved blockbuster status with annual sales exceeding a billion dollars and has now been acquired by Bristol Myers Squib. Dr. Soon-Shiong’s contribution to the advancement in cancer treatment has been honored by the Smithsonian National Museum of American History where Abraxane is now permanently housed, by the Friends of the National Library of Medicine Science with the Distinguished Medical Science award and by the Vatican with the Pontifical Key Visionary Award.
He received his medical degree at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa and continued his training in surgery at the University of California Los Angeles where he performed the first West Coast pancreas transplant and the world’s first encapsulated islet cell transplant. He is an adjunct Professor of Surgery at UCLA and a visiting Professor at the Imperial College of London.
Born and raised during the apartheid era in South Africa, Dr. Soon-Shiong has lived in Los Angeles since 1980 and is a citizen of the United States.
Professor Nick La Thangue
MA MSc PhD FRSE FMedSci
Chief Executive Officer
Nick has over 30 years of experience in biotech entrepreneurship, translational cancer science and drug development. He founded Prolifix focused on cell cycle therapeutics, where he acted as CSO and CEO until its merger with TopoTarget which led to a highly successful IPO. He founded Oxford Cancer Biomarkers, which continues to develop a portfolio of marketed precision cancer medicine tests, where he held senior positions including CEO and CSO. He has been CEO at IngenOx Therapeutics developing precision cancer drugs since the company was founded. Nick is Professor of Cancer Biology at Oxford University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Academy of Medical Sciences, the European Academy of Cancer Science, the Lister Institute and Professorial Fellow of Linacre College Oxford. He has over 200 publications and is an inventor on numerous patents.
Professor David Kerr
CBE MA MD DSc FRCP FRCGP FACP FESMO FMedSci
Chief Medical Officer
David is a senior clinician with more than 30 years experience in cancer treatment. He has a strong record in clinical research and has built numerous life sciences companies over the years, including Cobra, Therexsys, Oxford Cancer Biomarkers, IngenOx and SynOx Therapeutics. David contributes to Oxford as Professor of Cancer Medicine, where he has worked with colleagues to build a new Institute for Cancer Medicine and Cancer Hospital. He is an Honorary Professor of Oncology in Sichuan, Suchow, Xiamen, Shanghai, and Seoul National Universities. He has published over 400 papers and has an H-Index of 95 associated with over 45,000 citations. He was elected President of the European Society of Medical Oncology in 2010. He is Editor in Chief of The Oxford Textbooks of Oncology and Cancer Biology, was Editor in Chief of Annals of Oncology, established the Journal of Global Oncology and has initiated a new course in Oxford on Global Health Diplomacy.
Sandeep “Bobby” Reddy
MD
Non-Executive Director
Dr. Sandeep Reddy joined ImmunityBio as Chief Medical Officer in August 2020 after serving as Chief Medical Officer of NantHealth where he oversaw education, outreach, clinical development programs, and FDA 510k clearance for the OmicsCore WES assay. Previously, he was Chief Medical Officer of Caris Life Sciences and before that Dr. Reddy was Chief of Staff at Los Alamitos Medical Center, actively practicing clinical hematology and oncology, while holding an adjunct faculty position at the Geffen/UCLA School of Medicine as a clinical instructor at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. His executive and medical oversight has produced over 100 abstracts at major medical conferences and over 40 peer-reviewed publications in the field of precision medicine and oncology since 2015. His medical training includes fellowship training in hematology and medical oncology and therapeutics research at City of Hope, and Internal Medicine residency at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Reddy received his MD from the Geffen/UCLA School of Medicine after receiving his BS in biomedical sciences at the University of California, Riverside.
Leonard S Sender
MD
Non-Executive Director
Dr. Lennie Sender joined ImmunityBio as its Chief Operating Officer in March 2020, having previously served as Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs at NantKwest. Prior to joining NantKwest, he served as the Medical Director of the Hyundai Cancer Institute at Children’s Hospital in Orange County, California, and also has served as Medical Director of Clinical Oncology at the University of California’s National Cancer Institute-designated Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Sender is an accomplished blood and marrow stem cell transplant surgeon and oncologist who received his medical degree from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa and subsequently trained in pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine and in pediatric hematology-oncology at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. He has previously served as the President of the Society for Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology (SAYAO) and has served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology (JAYAO).
Strategic Collaborations
Global Pharma
IngenOx has acquired global rights to zabinostat (CXD101) through an exclusive world-wide license agreement from AstraZeneca
SynOx Therapeutics (an IngenOx spin-out) has acquired global rights to emactuzumab through an exclusive world-wide license agreement from Roche
Asian Healthcare
IngenOx has a sub-licensing and partnership agreement with Nuance Biotech to develop zabadinostat in China and South Africa
IngenOx has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Genor Biopharma relevant to the clinical development of zabadinostat
Oxford
IngenOx has established a unique partnership with Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust to facilitate its clinical trials and develop its precision medicine platform
SynOx Therapeutics
SynOx Therapeutics is an IngenOx spin-out with a focus to deliver marketing approval for emactuzumab in diffuse tenosynovial giant cell tumour.
In December 2020, SynOx acquired a world-wide exclusive license for emactuzumab from Roche, and received €37 million investment from HealthCap, Medicxi, Forbion and Gimv.