On January 13, 2020 TIO Bioventures, an emerging life science venture creation fund with a mission to build companies with innovative anti-cancer therapies, reported the launch of Treadwell Therapeutics, a clinical-stage oncology company exploiting cancer cells’ vulnerabilities to develop first-in-class and best-in-class small molecules to address unmet needs in patients with cancer (Press release, Tio Bioventures, JAN 13, 2020, View Source [SID1234553221]). Treadwell, one of TIO Bioventures family of companies launched from its discovery engine, TIO Discovery, was established with an initial $27 million in seed financing from TIO Bioventures to develop a robust pipeline of novel, first-in-class, small molecule drug candidates.

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"At Treadwell, we are developing small molecules designed to leverage world-class, innovative science in cancer biology and immune-oncology with pan-cancer potential, including hematological malignancies from the TIO Discovery development engine," said Dr. Michael Tusche, Treadwell Co-Chief Executive Officer and Partner at TIO Bioventures.

The origins of Treadwell lie in cutting-edge research incubated at the Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research (CFIBCR) within the University Health Network (UHN), Canada’s largest research hospital. Based on this research, Treadwell scientists have designed and advanced from discovery to Phase 2 clinical development, a first-in-class PLK4 kinase inhibitor, CFI-400945 and a potentially best-in-class TTK inhibitor, CFI-402257. These candidates have demonstrated encouraging safety and efficacy profiles in multiple investigator-sponsored clinical trials. In addition, Treadwell is poised to bring a third molecule into the clinic in early 2020. This agent, CFI-402411, an oral immunomodulatory kinase inhibitor with activity toward HPK1, an untapped immune-oncology target. Preclinical studies have demonstrated the promise of CFI-402411 as a potential monotherapy and in combination with existing checkpoint inhibitors across both solid and hematological cancers. Treadwell’s product candidates are wholly-owned and have been developed in TIO Discovery, a unique R&D engine wholly owned by TIO.

Leadership

The Company announced the appointment of Rachel W. Humphrey, M.D., as Head of R&D at TIO Discovery as well as Chief Medical Officer and Board Member at Treadwell. Dr. Humphrey joins TIO Bioventures and Treadwell with over two decades of experience as a senior clinical leader in oncology drug development for both large pharmaceutical and emerging biotechnology companies. Her experience includes overall leadership of the clinical development of Yervoy (ipilmumab), the first FDA approved checkpoint inhibitor, at Bristol-Myers Squibb, the development of Imfinzi (durvalumab) at Astra Zeneca and the development of Nexavar (sorafenib) at Bayer, as primary driver of the vision, science and direction during critical periods in the development for these transformational medicines.

"TIO Bioventures novel approach to found, launch, and support companies such as Treadwell speaks to this powerful and successful relationship of world-class scientists with deeply experienced management executives, and I am delighted to join Treadwell at such a pivotal time in the Company’s growth," said Dr. Humphrey. "I look forward to working with the team to further drive the development of these candidates with encouraging anti-cancer activity and exciting novel targets."

She will join Treadwell Therapeutics’ existing leadership team composed of world-class experts in immunology and oncology drug development, including Dr. Tak Mak, co-founder and managing partner of TIO Bioventures, who has led the development of multiple successful biotechnology companies.