Epitopea Expands its Clinical Development and Research Capabilities as it Accelerates to the Clinic
Epitopea announced the formation of its dedicated clinical team and the expansion of its research team. These developments represent a significant milestone in the company’s ongoing progress in advancing its RNA-based immunotherapies into clinical trials.
Siri Brinchmann-Hansen Torhaug, Head of Oncology Development, and Gertrud Koefoed Rasmussen, Head of Development Operations, will both join Epitopea’s Executive leadership team. They report into Dr. Klaus Edvardsen, who has served as Epitopea’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO) since February 2025, and oversees the strategic direction of clinical trials and regulatory affairs.
Epitopea’s research team in Cambridge has been extended to include translational immunology capabilities with the appointment of Dr. Theres Oakes as Director of Translational Sciences and Dr. Lisa Smith as Director of Research (UK). Both report into Dr. Jon Moore, Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of Epitopea, and will work in close collaboration with the clinical team to ensure the seamless integration of research and clinical strategies.
About Epitopea
Epitopea is a transatlantic cancer immunotherapeutics company developing off-the-shelf RNA-based immunotherapies for use in hard-to-treat cancers by targeting a class of untapped tumor-specific antigens, which are known as CryptigenTM TSAs, that are broadly shared across multiple patients with the same tumor type. Hidden CryptigenTM TSAs were first discovered through research led by Drs. Claude Perreault and Pierre Thibault at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer at the Université de Montréal.
Epitopea is backed by leading life science investors including:
- Advent Life Sciences
- CTI Life Sciences
- Cambridge Innovation Capital
- Le Fonds de Solidarité FTQ
- Investissement Québec
- adMare BioInnovations
- Jonathan Milner
- the Harrington Discovery Institute
- IRICoR
- Novateur Ventures
The company has a license and research collaboration with MSD (tradename of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J., USA).
Epitopea was founded in 2021 and consists of sister companies based in Cambridge, UK and in Montreal, Canada. For additional information, visit www.epitopea.com and follow Epitopea on LinkedIn.
