At eFFECTOR Therapeutics, we possess an unrelenting drive to improve outcomes for patients with cancer.
This is why we are pioneering the development of
selective translation regulator inhibitors (STRIs):
a new class of cancer therapies designed to overcome cancer’s complexity.
Our Approach
STRIs simultaneously block production of multiple disease-driving proteins as a single drug. This is possible through targeting a central node (eIF4F) where two major cancer signaling pathways converge and activate a burst of protein synthesis that drives multiple disease processes.
In cancer, processes that are normally tightly controlled become dysregulated, including translation. This leads to the aberrantly high production of multiple proteins that cause uncontrolled growth, immune evasion and metastasis. We believe that our STRIs can inhibit the production of key disease-driving proteins, which tumors have hijacked for their benefit, all while preserving the cell’s normal, healthy state. Our STRIs, which can be synergistic with existing therapies and those in development, are specifically designed to block production of oncoproteins, immune suppression factors and resistance mechanisms that cancer uses to evade therapeutic intervention.
eFFECTOR was founded on pioneering research in the laboratories of Drs. Davide Ruggero and Kevan Shokat and subsequently licensed proprietary applications of translational profiling technology from the University of California, San Francisco. Our scientific founders and management team comprise industry veterans who have played important roles in the discovery and development of marketed small molecule drugs, monoclonal antibody therapeutics and cellular immunotherapies in oncology and other disease areas.
Leadership
Our leadership team’s in-depth understanding of translation regulation biology and oncology drug development is matched by our expertise in building and leading life science companies. This has given us our key advantage in pioneering the emerging field of translation regulation therapeutics and developing first-in-class agents in this pathway.
Board of Directors
CHRIS EHRLICH
/in Board of Directors /by eallisonFormer Chief Executive Officer, LWAC
BRIAN GALLAGHER, PH.D.
/in Board of Directors /by eallisonFormer Partner, Abingworth
KRISTEN HARRINGTON-SMITH
/in Board of Directors /by eallisonSenior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer,
ADC Therapeutics
BARBARA KLENCKE, M.D.
/in Board of Directors /by eallisonChief Medical Officer, Sierra Oncology, Inc.
JOHN W. SMITHER, CPA (Inactive)
/in Board of Directors /by eallisonFormer Chief Financial Officer, Arcutis
Steve Worland, Ph.D.
/in Board of Directors, Leadership /by eallisonPresident and Chief Executive Officer
Clinical & Scientific Advisors
KEVAN SHOKAT, PH.D.
(CO-FOUNDER)
/in Advisors /by eallisonProfessor, Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, UCSF
and Department of Chemistry, UC Berkeley
Howard Hughes Medical Investigator
(CO-FOUNDER)
DAVIDE RUGGERO, PH.D.
(CO-FOUNDER)
/in Advisors /by eallisonProfessor, Department of Urology and Cellular & Molecular Pharmacology
Helen Diller Family Endowed Chair in Basic Cancer Research, UCSF
(CO-FOUNDER)
SIEGFRIED REICH, PH.D.
(CO-FOUNDER)
/in Advisors /by eallisonFormer Senior Vice President of Research at eFFECTOR Therapeutics
(CO-FOUNDER)
JOAN BRUGGE, PH.D.
/in Advisors /by eallisonDirector of the Ludwig Center
Louise Foote Pfeiffer Professor of Cell Biology
Harvard Medical School
KAPIL DHINGRA, M.D.
/in Advisors /by eallisonFormer Head, Roche Oncology
JENNIFER A. DOUDNA, PH.D.
/in Advisors /by eallisonLi Ka Shing Chancellor Chair and Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, UC Berkeley
Howard Hughes Medical Investigator
2020 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry
MIKE HODGES, MBBS, BSC, MRCP
/in Advisors /by eallisonFormer Chief Medical Officer
Amplyx Pharmaceuticals
FUNDA MERIC-BERNSTAM, M.D.
/in Advisors /by eallisonChair, Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics
Nellie B. Connally Chair in Breast Cancer
MD Anderson Cancer Center
AMY PATICK, PH.D.
/in Advisors /by eallisonPrincipal, Patick Pharmaceutical and Scientific Consulting
NEAL ROSEN, M.D., PH.D.
/in Advisors /by eallisonEnid A. Haupt Chair in Medical Oncology
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
ROBERT SCHNEIDER, PH.D.
/in Advisors /by eallisonAssociate Director, NYU Cancer Institute
Co-Director, Breast Cancer and Translational Cancer Research
Albert B. Sabin Professor of Molecular Pathogenesis
NYU School of Medicine
ROBERT SIKORSKI, M.D., PH.D.
/in Advisors /by eallisonManaging Director
Woodside Way Ventures
Steve Worland, Ph.D.
/in Board of Directors, Leadership /by eallisonPresident and Chief Executive Officer
Doug Warner, M.D.
/in Leadership /by eallisonChief Medical Officer
Mike Byrnes
/in Leadership /by eallisonChief Financial Officer
Mayank Gandhi, M.D.
/in Leadership /by Ellie SolorioChief Business Officer
Mark Densel
/in Leadership /by eallisonVice President, Development Operations