Ankyra Appoints Sailaja Battula, PhD as Chief Scientific Officer (CSO)

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ankyra Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering anchored drug conjugate technology for cancer and other diseases, today announced Sailaja Battula, PhD has been appointed as the new chief scientific officer (CSO) of Ankyra Therapeutics. Dr. Battula brings more than a decade of scientific and leadership experience in immuno-oncology, drug discovery, inflammation, and autoimmunity. She has a proven track record of advancing programs from early discovery through late-stage development, building high-performing teams, and forging strategic collaborations with key opinion leaders, academic institutions, and industry partners.

“We are pleased to have Dr. Battula leading our scientific efforts and guiding our emerging pipeline of immune targets,” said Howard Kaufman, MD, chief executive officer at Ankyra Therapeutics. “Sailaja’s track record of advancing immuno-oncology programs and ability to build high-performing teams bring relevant experience to our growing team.” Prior to joining Ankyra, Dr. Battula held leadership roles at several biotechnology companies. Most recently, she served as Director of Immuno-Oncology at Immuneering Corporation. Previously, she was Associate Director and Program Lead in Immuno-Oncology at Bicycle Therapeutics, where she led pioneering work on bicyclic peptides as T cell agonists, tumor-targeting bispecifics, and innate immune activators. Earlier in her career, she contributed to immunology and inflammation programs at Forma Therapeutics and Applied Immunology. Dr. Battula received her PhD in Pharmacology from New York Medical College and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of California San Francisco in the laboratories of Dr. Courtney Broaddus and Dr. Lisa Coussens. “At this pivotal stage of the company, I’m excited to step into the role of CSO and I look forward to shaping Ankyra’s scientific strategy and expansion of the pipeline to treat cancer and other serious illnesses,” said Dr. Battula.

About Tolododekin alfa (ANK-101)

Tolododekin alfa (ANK-101) is an anchored drug conjugate composed of interleukin-12 (IL-12) linked to aluminum hydroxide. ANK-101 enables local delivery of functional IL-12 to the tumor microenvironment where it remains biologically active for several weeks with transient exposure to the systemic circulation, thereby avoiding systemic toxicity. Treatment with ANK-101 in animal models has been associated with immune activation and rapid tumor regression. ANK-101 is being evaluated for the treatment of advanced solid tumors alone and in combination with anti-PD-1 agents. The first-in-human clinical trial of ANK-101 (NCT06171750) consists of monotherapy dose escalation, dose expansion in combination with cemiplimab, and dose optimization cohorts. The ANK-101-004 clinical trial (NCT07027514) will focus on non-mutated metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.

About Ankyra Therapeutics

Ankyra Therapeutics is a biotechnology company that has developed a highly differentiated technology platform that expands the therapeutic window of therapeutic drugs by forming a stable depot after local administration leading to prolonged immune activation and potent local and systemic immunity with reduced systemic toxicity. Ankyra is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit www.ankyratx.com.