Healthcare pioneer Laura Shawver, Ph.D. appointed Chair of the Board and industry veteran Roy Baynes M.D., Ph.D. appointed as independent, non-executive Director
Fang Z. Ni, Pharm.D. named Chief Financial Officer
Company expands global footprint by establishing U.S. operation
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, April 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Adcendo, a biotech company pioneering the development of first- and potential best-in-class antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for cancers with a high unmet medical need, today announced two important Board changes and a key addition to the executive leadership team. Laura Shawver, Ph.D. will join as Chair of the Board of Directors, Roy Baynes, M.D., Ph.D. was appointed as an independent, non-executive director and Fang Z. Ni, Pharm.D. was named Chief Financial Officer. Dr. Shawver will replace John Haurum, M.D., D.Phil., who is stepping down from the Board.
"We are very grateful to John for his leadership and dedication in building Adcendo as a leading ADC company. Following the successful completion of our recent Series B financing, we continue to build a world-class team to turbocharge our operations and accelerate the advancement of our first-in-class ADC pipeline," said Michael Pehl, Chief Executive Officer of Adcendo. "Laura's visionary outlook and strategic acumen, combined with Roy's wealth of clinical development experience and strong track record, and Fang's financial and operations expertise, will be invaluable as we execute on all our corporate and clinical objectives. On behalf of the entire management team, it is a great privilege to work alongside all these high caliber individuals as we pursue our mission to transform the lives of patients with high unmet need cancers."
As part of its global expansion strategy, Adcendo has established Adcendo U.S. Inc., and plans to open a Boston, MA office, reinforcing the company's commitment to becoming a leading international ADC company and advancing clinical trials globally.
More About Dr. Laura Shawver
Laura is a pioneer in healthcare who brings over two decades of leadership experience in biotechnology and patient advocacy, creating new paradigms in research and treatment for cancer and other serious diseases. As a scientist, she conducted research in the field of oncogenes, growth factors and signal transduction pathways that paved the way for her early drug development career focused on angiogenesis inhibitors and precision medicine, alongside a passion for providing cancer patients with treatments that were based on their tumor alterations. Following her own diagnosis and treatment for ovarian cancer in 2006, she founded the non-profit organization The Clearity Foundation (merged with OCRA in 2025), to help revolutionize ovarian cancer treatment and create a community of support for women living with the disease. Laura currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Capstan Therapeutics, a company developing in vivo mRNA medicines using targeted lipid nanoparticles, and her prior leadership roles include positions at Silverback Therapeutics (acquired by ARS Pharmaceuticals), Synthorx (acquired by Sanofi), Cleave Biosciences, Phenomix Corporation and SUGEN, Inc. Laura holds a Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Iowa.
Dr. Shawver commented: "As someone who has gone through traditional chemotherapy, I know we need to do better for patients. Adcendo is an ambitious and innovative company bringing new ADC medicines forward which have the potential to change the treatment paradigm and outcomes for people living with cancer. They have a talented and dedicated leadership team, and I am honored to serve as the Chair of the Board."
More About Dr. Roy Baynes
Roy is Chief Medical Officer at Eikon Therapeutics, and was previously Chief Medical Officer and head of clinical development at Merck (known as Merck Sharp & Dohme outside of the United States), where he supervised the entire clinical portfolio in Merck Research Laboratories and was the architect of the development strategy for dozens of important new medicines including Keytruda®, a drug that has revolutionized cancer treatment globally. Prior to Merck, Roy held clinical development leadership positions for oncology, respiratory and inflammation at Gilead Sciences and hematology/oncology at Amgen. Prior to industry, Roy held academic positions at South African and American Universities in hematology and oncology, in addition to leading the bone marrow transplantation service at the Karmanos Cancer Institute at Wayne State University in Detroit, where he was Professor of Medicine and Oncology, and the Charles Martin Professor of Cancer Research. Roy received his degree in medicine and surgery (MB, BCh) from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he also received an MMed (specialist registration) and completed a Ph.D. exploring human iron metabolism. Roy is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the College of Physicians of South Africa.
Dr. Baynes stated: "ADCs have already become standard of care in many cancer types and bear the potential to replace chemotherapy as therapeutic backbone during the coming years. I am looking forward to collaborating with the Adcendo team to develop tailored strategies for their unique first-in-class ADC pipeline assets."
More About Fang Ni
Fang brings nearly 20 years of experience and a proven track record in finance, business development and corporate strategy to Adcendo. He joins Adcendo from Black Diamond Therapeutics where he served as Chief Business and Financial Officer. Prior to Black Diamond, Fang served as a Principal at Versant Ventures, where he also served as Interim Chief Business Officer for several new ventures, including Monte Rosa Therapeutics and Bright Peak Therapeutics. Prior to Versant, Fang served as Global Business Development & Licensing director within Roche's Partnering organization, where he was responsible for leading transactions across oncology, immunology, and infectious and rare diseases. Fang earned a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Purdue University and then completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Rutgers University.
Dr. Ni said: "I am delighted to join Adcendo's leadership team at this pivotal stage of the company's growth. As the company's first U.S. based executive, I look forward to helping build our global presence and contributing to Adcendo's mission. I'm excited to support the company's strategic and financial initiatives as we advance through key milestones in the years ahead."
About Adcendo ApS:
Adcendo ApS is a clinical-stage biotechnology company headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, with operations in Boston, Massachusetts. The company is developing a pipeline of first- and potential best-in-class antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) targeting cancers with high unmet medical needs. Led by a team of industry veterans with a track record of advancing multiple ADCs to approval, Adcendo integrates novel targets, optimized linker-payload combinations, and a rationally designed development strategy to drive next-generation cancer therapies. For further information, please visit www.adcendo.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
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