LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Epsilogen, a global leader in the development of immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies to treat cancer, today announces the appointments of Ashley Nagle as Chief Business Officer (CBO) and Peter Finan, currently a Non-Executive Director, as Non-Executive Chairman. The changes are made with immediate effect as part of a broader company expansion.
Ashley brings over 25 years of experience leading business and strategy development, licensing and deal-making within the biopharmaceutical industry. Most recently, Ashley served as VP of Business Development at RemedyBio, a discovery and development precision immunotherapy company. During his career Mr Nagle has worked with both small and large organisations, including Lonza Biologics, Almac Sciences, Fulcrum Pharma, OncoSynergy, NexGenix and SeaGull Therapeutics, where he was Chief Executive Officer. Ashley holds a BSc in Chemistry from University College Cork, an MSc in Analytical Chemistry and Environmental Sciences from the University of Aberdeen and an MBA from the University of Lincoln.
Ashley’s appointment comes amidst a broader company expansion that will enable Epsilogen to unlock the potential of both IgE antibodies and their engineered derivatives as an entirely new treatment modality for patients with cancer. Since the start of 2023, the company has expanded its management team with the appointments of Nick Robbins-Cherry as CFO, Andrew Calam as VP of Clinical Operations and Elizabeth Hardaker as VP of Biology. Over this period, Epsilogen has also built a world class scientific team based in state-of-the-art laboratories in West London. This investment has added internal core competencies in antibody discovery, evaluation, engineering, production and pharmacological assessment, all complementing its existing expertise within the IgE field.
Pete replaces Dave Chiswell as Non-Executive Chairman, who is stepping down for personal reasons after five years in the role. Pete has more than 30 years’ experience in drug discovery within the biopharmaceutical industry and is a Partner at Epidarex Capital. During his career Pete has also served as Global Head of the Respiratory Disease Area and Site Head for the Novartis Institute of BioMedical Research in the UK and as Executive Director of the Novartis Developmental and Molecular Pathways Platform based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Pete holds a BSc and Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Leeds.
Dr Tim Wilson, Chief Executive Officer of Epsilogen, commented: “I am delighted to welcome Ashley to the Epsilogen team. He has an excellent track record in business development within the biopharmaceutical industry and we expect his experience and insights to have an immediate impact. Epsilogen has made substantial progress over the last 12 months on all fronts and Ashley will spearhead our partnering discussions going forward.
I would like to thank Dave for all his passion and hard work in guiding Epsilogen as Non-Executive Chair over the last five years. His wealth of experience has been invaluable to the progress we have made so far, and we wish him the very best for the future. At the same time, I would like to welcome Pete on stepping up into the role. Pete has been a key member of the Epsilogen team for many years and was pivotal in its formation.”
Ashley Nagle, Chief Business Officer of Epsilogen, added: “I am excited to be joining a company with such a potentially disruptive therapeutic approach and one that has already generated encouraging early clinical and preclinical data. I look forward to working closely with Tim and the rest of the team to fully unlock the value of this class of antibodies and leverage my strategy and business development expertise to drive Epsilogen forward.”
Dr Dave Chiswell, outgoing Non-Executive Chairman of Epsilogen, said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed working with all of the Epsilogen team and am proud of what we have achieved together. The company is in excellent hands and is in a good position to execute the next phase of its development, as it pursues its ambition to revolutionise cancer treatment with IgE antibodies.”
About Epsilogen Ltd
Epsilogen is a global leader in the development of immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies to treat cancer. IgE’s natural function is to provide immunological defence against certain parasites. This functionality makes it an ideal treatment of solid tumours due to its strong potency, enhanced tumour access and long tissue half-life.
Epsilogen’s lead product candidate, MOv18 IgE, is the first therapeutic IgE antibody to enter the clinic and encouraging data from a completed Phase I trial demonstrated MOv18 IgE to be safe and well tolerated with early signs of clinical activity. Epsilogen has recently successfully completed large scale GMP manufacture of MOv18 IgE (the first time this has been achieved for an IgE antibody) and will initiate a Phase Ib trial in Platinum Resistant Ovarian Cancer Patients later this year. The company is also developing a proprietary IgEG antibody platform combining elements from both IgE and IgG antibodies into novel and proprietary antibody molecules with enhanced functionality.
Epsilogen began operations in 2017 as a spin-out of King’s College London and has attracted venture capital financing from Epidarex Capital, Novartis Venture Fund, 3B Future Health, British Patient Capital, ALSA Ventures and Schroders Capital amongst others. Find out more at epsilogen.com.
