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News

Carol A. Schafer

OMass Therapeutics appoints Carol A. Schafer as Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee

OMass Therapeutics (‘OMass’ or ‘the Company’), a biotechnology company identifying medicines against highly validated target ecosystems such as membrane proteins or intracellular complexes, today announces the appointment of Carol A. Schafer as non-executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee.

Dr Claire Shingler, BioEscalator Business Manager, introducing the BioEscalator Pitch Battle 2025 event.

An insight into our sixth annual Pitch Battle - with competition as intense as ever!

It was an afternoon of high drama as BioEscalator tenants took to the floor in our recent annual Pitch Battle to compete for the Best Pitch prize, sponsored by Oxford North, and a range of other accolades.

A zygote is undergoing rapid cell division.

U-Ploid Biotechnologies featured in EQT Foundation's 25 Scientific Founders Pushing the Frontiers of Impact 2025 report

U-Ploid Biotechnologies is rewriting the script on fertility treatments, tackling the root cause of age-related egg decline with groundbreaking science.

Becson Ody, BioEscalator Business Administration and Reception Apprentice, representing the BioEscalator at the Enspire Demo Night 2025 event.

Business Apprentice Becson joins the BioEscalator

Who knew? Young adults do listen to their parents, and the BioEscalator is very glad about that. Becson Ody, our first Business Administration & Reception apprentice, found out about apprenticeships through his father, who is a ‘big advocate’.

A moving van outside of a glass-fronted building

Biotech start-up Ochre Bio relocates to Alexandria Center® for Life Science – New York City

JLL announced today that it has completed a sublease for growing U.K.-based biotech company Ochre Bio at 430 East 29th St. within the Alexandria Center® for Life Science – New York City.

A scientist inputting data on a laptop

OMass Therapeutics presents positive preclinical data for its Best-in-class MC2 program at ENDO 2025

OMass Therapeutics (‘OMass’ or ‘the Company’), a biotechnology company identifying medicines against highly validated target ecosystems such as membrane proteins or intracellular complexes, today announces positive preclinical data for OMS1620, its lead program targeting the melanocortin-2 (MC2) receptor, at ENDO 2025, the Annual Endocrine Society Meeting, taking place in San Francisco from 12-15 July.

Oxford BioEscalator Portfolio 2025 cover. Includes Oxford BioEscalator and University of Oxford logos. Central heading reads: 'Driving clinical impact: the groundbreaking companies at the Oxford BioEscalator.' Below are four images: two women talking, colorful microscopic liquid with bubbles, gloved hand pipetting into lab tubes, and a group of people chatting at a table.

BioEscalator Portfolio 2025

The BioEscalator is very proud to be home to a stellar collection of companies using cutting-edge science to tackle profound medical challenges. Our new Portfolio 2025 brings them together to showcase their innovative approaches and provide a valuable guide for potential investors and partners.

Quin Wills, CEO, Ochre Bio

Dr Quin Wills appointed as Ochre Bio CEO

Oxford-based Ochre Bio, a biotechnology company developing RNA therapeutics for chronic liver disease, has appointed Dr Quin Wills as CEO.

BioEscalator Bulletin - Summer 2025

Stay updated with the latest BioEscalator updates, tenant and alumni news, and upcoming events in the Summer 2025 edition of the BioEscalator Bulletin.

Photo of Dr Elaine Sullivan

Ochre Bio appoints ex-Eli Lilly and AstraZeneca VP as Non-Executive Director

The appointment and ongoing science team expansion will help the company advance late-stage liver disease therapeutics.

A drawing of a path that splits into two

PepGen to focus on development of promising DM1 program following 10 mg/kg PGN-EDO51 update

PGN-EDO51 did not achieve target dystrophin levels in CONNECT1-EDO51 trial; Company to discontinue development of DMD programs. PGN-EDO51 at 10 mg/kg was generally well tolerated; all treatment-related adverse events were mild. DM1 program on track to read out FREEDOM-DM1 15 mg/kg cohort in second half of 2025 and FREEDOM2-DM1 5 mg/kg cohort in Q1 2026.

Photo of Bhavna Hunjan

Nucleome Therapeutics appoints Bhavna Hunjan as Chief Business Officer

Nucleome Therapeutics (‘Nucleome’ or ‘the Company’), a biotechnology company harnessing the power of non-coding human genetics to discover first-in-class antibody treatments for inflammatory diseases, announces it has appointed Bhavna Hunjan as Chief Business Officer with immediate effect.

Welcome, Sandbox Bioscience, to the BioEscalator Community!

We are excited to announce that Sandbox Bioscience, an ambitious biotech start-up founded by a team of virology experts from the Oxford ecosystem, has joined the BioEscalator.

PepGen appoints Kasra Kasraian, PhD, as Chief Technology Officer

PepGen Inc. (Nasdaq: PEPG), a clinical-stage biotechnology company advancing the next generation of oligonucleotide therapies with the goal of transforming the treatment of severe neuromuscular and neurological diseases, today announced the appointment of Kasra Kasraian, PhD, as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Dr. Kasraian brings over 25 years of experience in product and process development, CMC strategy, and technical operations, spanning small and large molecules, as well as cell and gene therapies.

Alchemab Therapeutics signs landmark $415m licensing agreement for ATLX-1282 with Eli Lilly and Company

Alchemab Therapeutics (Alchemab), the next generation biopharmaceutical company which uses the power of human immune evolution to identify and develop naturally occurring therapeutic antibodies from resilient individuals, today announces that it has entered into a licensing agreement with Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) for ATLX-1282, Alchemab’s first-in-class IND-ready programme for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative conditions.

Left to right: Chloe Charalambous, Eirini Bellou, Jordan Abdi, and Alex Webster.

U‑Ploid Biotechnologies selected for prestigious Merck Corporate Accelerator Programme to advance women’s health innovation

U‑Ploid, a biotechnology company developing first-in-class therapeutics to address age-related infertility, today announced its selection for the inaugural Merck Corporate Accelerator. The programme, launched by EMD Serono in partnership with the Society for Innovation and Startups (SIS), is designed to support breakthrough innovation in women’s health by providing funding, expert mentorship, and access to Merck’s global network of scientific and clinical leaders.

Enara Bio strengthens senior leadership with key Executive and Board appointments alongside acceleration of multiple T-Cell engager programs

Enara Bio, a biopharmaceutical company pioneering the development of bispecific T-cell engagers directed against Dark Antigen® and other emerging targets, today announces the appointment of Stacey Davis as Chief Business Officer (CBO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Her appointment strengthens the leadership team at a key moment for Enara as it prepares to transition its lead assets towards clinical development. Stacey most recently served as CBO at Xilio Therapeutics, where she was the architect of a series of major pharma collaborations. In total, Stacey brings over 25 years of experience in delivering growth, innovation, and strategic transformation in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries.

Orfonyx Bio – big ambitions in protein upregulation

Orfonyx Bio is looking to make its mark as a leader in protein upregulation for clinical benefit – and has made technical progress towards this goal over the past two years. In that time as a BioEscalator tenant the University of Oxford spin-out has also grown from two to seven employees, raised an Oxford Science Enterprises-backed seed round and started to understand where its approach might have the greatest clinical impact. Now it’s raising additional funding.

Infinitopes granted Phase I/IIa Clinical Trial Application approval to evaluate precision vaccine targeting early-stage oesophageal cancer

Infinitopes Ltd today announces that the UK Medicines and Healthcare products RegulatoryAgency (MHRA) has granted Clinical Trial Application (CTA) approval for the first-in-humanPhase I/IIa clinical trial of ITOP1, the company’s lead ‘off-the-shelf’ cancer vaccine. ITOP1 is a precision cancer vaccine, designed to safely and accurately target tumour antigens, leveraging the company’s vector delivery system, aiming to drive strong and durable T-cell protection for patients with surgically resectable oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAC).

Care Fertility and U-Ploid Biotechnologies announce research collaboration to improve egg quality in women of advanced maternal age

Care Fertility, a leading fertility treatment provider, and U-Ploid Biotechnologies, a pioneering reproductive health biotech, today announces a research collaboration aimed at improving egg quality and improve fertility treatment. Egg quality is one of the main contributing factors to infertility and is known to deteriorate rapidly with increasing female age. This research collaboration has the potential to validate novel therapeutics and offer hope to millions struggling to conceive.