Epitopea strengthens top teams in fresh growth push

Anchored at Babraham Research Campus in Cambridge UK and Montreal in Canada, Epitopea is developing accessible, off-the-shelf RNA-based immunotherapies.

Siri Brinchmann-Hansen Torhaug, Head of Oncology Development, and Gertrud Koefoed Rasmussen, Head of Development Operations, join Epitopea’s Executive leadership team. They report into Dr. Klaus Edvardsen, who has served as Epitopea’s Chief Medical Office since February and oversees the strategic direction of clinical trials and regulatory affairs.

Epitopea’s research team in Cambridge has been extended to include translational immunology capabilities with the appointment of Dr. Theres Oakes as Director of Translational Sciences and Dr. Lisa Smith as Director of Research (UK). They report into Dr. Jon Moore, Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer, and will work in close collaboration with the clinical team to ensure the seamless integration of research and clinical strategies.

Siri Brinchmann-Hansen Torhaug is a highly accomplished, board-certified, oncology specialist with extensive experience in clinical strategy and development. Siri has worked in various senior leadership roles, including as Chief Medical Officer at Nykode Therapeutics, where she was instrumental in developing clinical strategies for oncology and autoimmune disease therapies.

She brings a wealth of experience from working across both early-phase translational research and late-stage clinical trials. At Epitopea, Siri will focus on clinical strategy and development, ensuring that the company’s pipeline moves forward with precision and efficacy.

Gertrud Koefoed Rasmussen has over 20 years of experience in clinical operations across multiple therapeutic areas, including oncology and rare diseases. Most recently, Gertrud held the position of VP and Head of Development Operations at Nykode Therapeutics, where she built and expanded the clinical operations department and led clinical trials across all phases of development.

She has extensive experience in vendor management, regulatory compliance, and process optimisation. At Epitopea, Gertrud will lead clinical trial management and regulatory compliance, ensuring that trials are conducted efficiently and in accordance with regulatory guidelines.

Dr. Klaus Edvardsen, CMO of Epitopea, said: “It is an honour to lead the formation of this clinical team and I am thrilled to work with Gertrud and Siri, who both bring invaluable experience and expertise to Epitopea. Their leadership will be crucial as we move forward with our clinical trials and work to bring our transformative cancer immunotherapies to the clinic.”

As part of the research team appointments, Dr. Theres Oakes brings extensive expertise in antigen-directed immuno-oncology through her academic training and prior role at Achilles Therapeutics. Dr. Lisa Smith brings considerable experience in drug discovery and oncology from her previous roles at Kudos Therapeutics, Mission Therapeutics and Benevolent AI.

Dr. Jon Moore added: “We are harnessing the talents of our existing research team and recent joiners to build world-class cancer immunotherapeutics. To this end, we welcome Lisa to accelerate these efforts.

“Furthermore, with the translational sciences team we are building around Theres, we will have the capability to assess the performance of our immunotherapeutics in patients with unrivalled precision. It has been a real privilege to be able to build such a strong biology group and I am very excited to see what impact we can make on the treatment of these devastating diseases.”