Breaking Barriers
to Better Cancer Treatment

About

The team at Incendia recognizes that cancer cells create a hostile microenvironment to privilege their own survival at the expense of the host tissue.

Incendia’s approach is to attack the structural and biochemical underpinnings of this tumor microenvironment to enable host immune cells and Immuno-oncology therapeutics to reach their target.

Our Team

We are scientists, drug developers, clinicians, pathologists, bioinformaticians, engineers, innovators, and cancer warriors redefining the treatment landscape for patients with recalcitrant cancers.

Management

Joesph Paul Elder

Joseph Paul Eder, MD

Chief Medical Officer

Susan G. Macdonald

Susan G. Macdonald, PhD

SVP, Non Clinical Development & Strategy

Wendye Robbins

Wendye R. Robbins, MD

President & Chief Executive Officer

Thomas Schürpf

Thomas Schürpf, PhD

SVP, Research

Brad Smith

Bradford Smith

Chief Financial Officer

Irena Lerentracht Webster

Irena Lerentracht Webster, MPH

SVP, Development and Operations

Facilities Management

Sumita Roy

Sumita Roy, MS, CG(ASCP)CM

Senior Director, Operations, Procurement, Lab & Facilities Operations

Board of Directors

Michael Kauffman

Michael Kauffman, MD, PhD

Chairman of the Board, Incendia Therapeutics, CEO Nereid Therapeutics

Sakae Asanuma

Sakae Asanuma

President Taiho Ventures

Steve Liapis

Steve Liapis

Director Northpond Ventures

Christopher O’Donnell

Christopher O’Donnell, PhD

Partner Pfizer Ventures

Wendye Robbins

Wendye Robbins, MD

President & CEO

Advisory Board

Michael Cecchini, MD

GI Oncologist, Early Drug Development Program, Yale

Hervé Fridman, MD PhD

Former Head of the IO Center Cordeliers, Paris

Scott L. Friedman, MD

Dean for Collaborative Research and Partnerships
Director, Institute for Liver Research
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Antoine Italiano, MD, PhD

Institut Bergonie, Early Phase Trials and Sarcoma Units

Pamela Munster, MD

Director, Early Phase Clinical Trials Unit UCSF

Paolo Provenzano, PhD

Dept. of Biomed Engineering, University of Minnesota

Mace Rothenberg, MD

Former CMO & CDO Oncology Pfizer

Investors

Investors

abrdn logo
alexandria logo
breakout ventures logo
creacion logo
kdt ventures logo
northpond logo
parkwest logo
pfizer logo
s32 logo
taiho logo

Our Pipeline

Our pipeline and drug discovery engine leverage an unprecedented approach for striking at immune-excluded tumors often found in recalcitrant cancers.

Our Science

Incendia is currently running a phase 1 clinical trial evaluating the safety, biologic, and clinical impact of PRTH-101 alone and in combination with PD-1 inhibition (NCT05753722).

PRTH-101 is a monoclonal antibody that binds to and inhibits Discoidin Domain Receptor 1 (DDR1). DDR1 is a collagen receptor that is highly expressed by cancer cells in multiple tumor types. Higher levels of DDR1 expression are associated with increased tumor invasiveness, chemoresistance, and worse outcomes in cancer. DDR1 promotes collagen fiber alignment, creating a physical barrier that prevents immune cells from interacting with and attacking tumor cells. Preclinical studies have shown that blocking DDR1 with PRTH-101 disrupts the tumor cell-induced collagen fiber alignment, thus creating gaps in this barrier and allowing T cells to enter and attack the tumor cells. Thus, PRTH-101 represents a unique approach to stimulating immune-based antitumor activity.

Additionally, addressing aligned collagen with PRTH-101 may allow established cancer therapeutics to work more effectively. Gaps in the collagen barrier may allow modified T cell therapies to enter solid tumors more easily. It may decrease tumor bed oncotic pressure allowing the diffusion of chemotherapies into the tumor at higher concentrations. Similarly, PRTH-101 may decrease hypoxia in the tumor microenvironment allowing radiation to work more effectively.

Publications and Presentations

Exclusion of CD8 T Cells from Tumor Epithelium is Associated with Worse Immune Checkpoint Blockade (ICB) Therapy Response and Survival in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer | PosterSITC 2024 

Spatial transcriptomics analysis reveals association between DDR1-collagen interactions and immune exclusion in human cancers | PosterSITC 2024

Stromal collagen features from H&E-stained whole slide images are associated with lymphocyte infiltration and survival following checkpoint inhibition in patients with non-small cell lung cancer | Poster | SITC 2024 

View More Presentations and Publications

Join Our Team

Incendia Therapeutics is a precision oncology biotech company dedicated to reprogramming the tumor microenvironment with the express intent of bringing recalcitrant cancers into submission. Our pipeline and drug discovery engine leverage an unprecedented approach for striking at immune-excluded tumors often found in recalcitrant cancers. Come join our dynamic team!

Job Opportunities

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