About us
Leucid Bio is a clinical stage biotech company pursuing a differentiated approach to develop next generation Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies using the Company’s proprietary Lateral CAR Platform to improve treatment outcomes and save the lives of patients with refractory cancers. Founded, in 2014, to translate 20 years of pioneering CAR-T research led by Dr John Maher at King's College London (KCL), Leucid has developed a unique Lateral CAR platform that builds upon John’s novel CAR-T model which develops CAR molecules designed to adopt a more natural biological configuration by moving the key functional components into their natural position next to the plasma membrane in a lateral as opposed to a linear configuration – ‘build out, not down’.
Our Company
Leucid Bio is a biotech company pioneering next-generation cell therapies for hard-to-treat cancers. Founded to translate 20 years of pioneering CAR-T research led by Dr John Maher at King's College London (KCL), Leucid Bio has Leucid Bio has developed a proprietary portfolio based upon Dr Maher’s novel approach, in which the CAR structure has been redesigned to recapitulate the lateral distribution of signalling domains as observed in natural immune receptors. The technology gives properties to the CAR-Ts that enable them to consistently outperform previous generations of CAR-T therapies in pre-clinical studies; enhancing T-cell potency and generating a persistent long-term response with reduced toxicity.
Leucid Bio is headquartered in London, UK, with operations based at Guy’s Hospital with its GMP manufacturing and clinical lab facilities, enabling it to maintain its patient-centric focus on developing better cell therapies for the benefit of individuals with hard-to-treat solid tumours.
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Our Mission
Our mission is to develop next generation CAR-T therapies using the Company’s proprietary Lateral CAR platform to improve treatment outcomes and save the lives of patients with refractory cancers.
Who We Are
Leucid Bio is led by a committed and industry-experienced Management Team with deep scientific, clinical and commercial expertise in the CAR-T field, supported by a diverse team of passionate and dedicated staff. Together, the Leucid Bio team has a proven track-record in the engineering of new chimeric immune receptor systems and their translation to the clinic, maximising the likelihood of success in safely and effectively treating hard-to-treat cancers.
Investors
Leucid Bio is backed by leading investors Epidarex, Vulpes Investment Management, 2Invest, Future Fund of the British Business Bank, and Sofinnova Partners. To date, Leucid Bio has raised £15 million of funding.
In 2021, Leucid Bio raised £11.5 million in a Series A financing round. The investment was led by seed investor Epidarex and new investor Vulpes Investment Management, with participation from new investors 2Invest and Future Fund of the British Business Bank, and existing seed investor Sofinnova Partners.
Executive Team
Ian Miscampbell
Chairman
Ian Miscampbell was appointed Chair of the Board in 2021 following the successful Series A financing. He is a Managing Partner at Sixth Element Capital and a seasoned financial executive. Ian brings considerable experience in all aspects of the financing and operation of healthcare and biotech companies, including but not limited to: public and private market fundraising; technology in and out-licensing; corporate M&A; and operational management.
Filippo Petti
Filippo Petti was appointed Chief Executive Officer in July 2023. He brings broad industry expertise to Leucid Bio across operations, finance and research. Prior to joining Leucid, he was CEO, CFO and Executive Director of Celyad Oncology SA, a biotech company focused on cell therapies for cancer. Prior to Celyad Oncology SA, Mr. Petti spent several years as a healthcare investment banker at Wells Fargo Securities and William Blair & Company, where he specialised in working with cell and gene therapy companies. In addition, Mr. Petti has worked in equity research covering U.S. biotechnology companies both at William Blair & Company and Wedbush Securities. He began his career as a research scientist at OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. focused on drug discovery and translational research, before transitioning to corporate development with the company. Mr. Petti holds a Master of Business Administration from Cornell University, a Master of Science from St. John’s University and a Bachelor of Science from Syracuse University.
CEO
John Maher
CSO
Dr John Maher is a clinically active consultant immunologist at Eastbourne Hospital and King’s Health Partners. While a visiting fellow in the laboratory of Michel Sadelain, he was the first to engineer and test second generation CAR-T technology in human T cells, building on the pioneering work of Helene Finney in the Jurkat model system. He established CAR T-cell research at King’s College London in 2004 where he leads the "CAR Mechanics" group, which is focused on the development of adoptive immunotherapy using CAR engineered and gamma delta T cells. He is chief investigator of a Phase I clinical trial in which a pan-ErbB targeted CAR-T that he developed is being evaluated in patients with refractory locally advanced/ recurrent head and neck cancer.
Belinda Carlsen
VP Clin Ops
Belinda Carlsen has over 20 years’ experience operationalising clinical research across a range of therapeutic types, including now marketed advanced therapies. She has developed her career through the various roles within the Clinical Operations function, before moving into senior management and leading Clinical Operations teams. Her 10+ years spent as a consultant has given her an extensive background working across all phases of clinical research, as well as managing global programmes and development strategy, with speciality expertise working with academic researchers and newly formed spin-outs. She holds an MSc in Bio-business where she focused on the impact of the national innovation system on the advanced therapy landscape in the UK, and immediately prior to joining Leucid Bio, was part of the senior leadership team at the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult.
Mark Docherty
CFO & COO
Mark Docherty is Chief Financial and Operating Officer at Leucid, he joined in May 2022. Mark has over 25 years hands on experience in Life Sciences with investment and operational roles. He was instrumental in licensing the MSD gene therapy portfolio into FKD Therapies Oy in 2011, ultimately becoming the gene therapy group, Trizell, where he was Group CFO. Their lead Adenovirus gene therapy product for non muscle invasive bladder cancer successfully completed its Phase II & III trials in the USA. It was approved by the FDA in December 2022. Prior to that he was a founding director of specialist life sciences venture capital company, Merlin Biosciences Limited and was actively involved in the structuring, financing and exiting of their start-ups and investments. He is a chartered accountant and holds a BEng in Mechanical Engineering from Sheffield University. He is also Geschäftsführer of DHP Private Equity GmbH, a specialist private equity house.
Marc Davies
VP R&D
Marc Davies received his PhD from the laboratory of Dr John Maher at King’s College London, where his research focussed on the development and pre-clinical assessment of CAR T-cells targeting the extended ErbB family. This product is now under investigation in an investigator-led Phase I clinical trial for patients with relapsed/refractory head and neck cancer. Following a post-doctoral position at University College London developing CAR T-cells for haematological malignancies, Marc returned to KCL where his research focussed on enhancing CAR T-cell efficacy against solid tumours. With over 15 years’ experience in the field of adoptive cell therapy, Marc joined Leucid Bio in May 2021 as VP of CAR Engineering to manage their burgeoning CAR T-cell R&D pipeline and clinical translation of their lead asset, LEU011.
Arindam Mitra
Director CMC
Arindam Mitra is a highly experienced CMC professional with over a decade of experience in the biotechnology and academic fields. He oversees the production of Leucid's clinical products in his role as Director of CMC. Arindam has a proven track record of success in GxP, MSAT, technology transfer, ATMP manufacture and distribution. He is also a Subject Matter Expert in the development of manufacturing processes and has a strong focus on early phase first in human clinical trials. Arindam has a Master's degree in Immunology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology from the University of Hertfordshire. Prior to his role at Leucid Bio, Arindam held various management positions at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, Cell Medica, Anthony Nolan Cell Therapy Centre for UCB Transplants, and Huntingdon Life Sciences. He has a deep understanding of regulatory compliance and has been instrumental in the development and validation of various advanced therapies manufacturing processes and techniques.