Enara Bio Enters 2026 with Dark Antigen Licensing to Boehringer Ingelheim, Appointment of Chief Medical Officer and Plans to Advance DARKFOX T-cell Engager into First-in-Human Studies
- Boehringer Ingelheim exercises option to license additional Dark Antigens from a wider array of tumor types, expanding Enara’s eligibility for milestone payments under existing collaboration
- Scott Drutman, M.D., Ph.D. appointed as Chief Medical Officer, adding deep expertise in translational medicine, extensive early‑stage clinical trial execution, and proven immuno‑oncology drug development experience
- Enara’s ENA101, a bispecific T-cell engager targeting DARKFOX, a Dark Antigen derivative of FOXM1, planned to advance into First-in-Human studies in 2026
- Enara continues expansion of its EDAPT discovery platform to include cell-surface Dark Antigens
Oxford, UK – January 8, 2026. Enara Bio, a biopharmaceutical company pioneering the discovery of novel Dark Antigens® and the development of bispecific T-cell engagers for solid tumors, today announced that Boehringer Ingelheim has exercised its option to license multiple additional Dark Antigen targets discovered and validated through the collaboration with Enara.
Dark Antigens are a new class of tumor-specific targets derived from the dark genome. Enara and Boehringer have a longstanding strategic collaboration leveraging Enara’s EDAPT® platform to discover and validate Dark Antigens in a variety of tumor types. Previously, a major milestone in this partnership was met when Boehringer licensed multiple Dark Antigens for use in a novel vaccine for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Boehringer has now licensed further Dark Antigens to develop cancer immunotherapies for another undisclosed solid tumor type. During this collaboration, Enara has demonstrated that the licensed antigens are promising novel targets for cancer immunotherapies, characterized by high tumor specificity, confirmed presence on the surface of tumor cells, homogenous expression within tumors, and strong immunogenicity.
Kevin Pojasek, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Enara Bio, commented: “Our collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim has been incredibly fruitful in terms of discovering and validating completely novel cancer-specific targets across multiple significant tumor types, thereby addressing a widespread industry challenge of high competitive intensity around relatively few well-known targets. This latest licensing decision by Boehringer underlines the power of our industry-leading EDAPT platform and our ability to deliver on bespoke discovery programs.”
Entering 2026 well positioned to advance ENA101 into clinical development while expanding cancer-specific Dark Antigen discovery
Enara also announced the appointment of Dr. Scott Drutman, M.D., Ph.D. as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Drutman joins the company from Volastra Therapeutics, where he led clinical strategy and development across a portfolio of oncology programs. He brings deep expertise in translational medicine, early‑stage clinical trial execution, and immuno‑oncology drug development, and will oversee the advancement of ENA101 into clinical studies (see full biography below).
“The progress we are announcing today reflects the growing conviction in the potential of Dark Antigens to unlock a new class of precision immunotherapies,” Kevin Pojasek, Ph.D., continued. “The expansion of Boehringer Ingelheim’s licensing, the addition of Scott as our CMO, and the continued support of our world‑class investors position us strongly as we prepare ENA101 for regulatory submission in 2026 and advance the next generation of cell‑surface Dark Antigens. I would also like to thank Sophie Papa for her many contributions during her time as Enara’s first CMO and wish her the best as she moves on to her next endeavor.”
Dr. Scott Drutman, incoming Chief Medical Officer of Enara Bio, added: “Enara’s Dark Antigen platform represents one of the most compelling opportunities in immuno‑oncology today, particularly as we see the first glimpse of its potential to leverage previously undruggable targets such as FOXM1, in the form of DARKFOX. I am excited to join the team at this pivotal moment to help bring ENA101 to patients and support an expanding pipeline of such promising and innovative therapies.”
Together, these milestones underscore Enara Bio’s continued progress toward establishing Dark Antigens as a foundational class of targets for next‑generation immunotherapies. With an expanded pharma partnership and growing clinical leadership, the company is well positioned to advance ENA101 into the clinic and accelerate the discovery of novel cell‑surface Dark Antigens to fuel a robust pipeline of novel therapeutics. Enara Bio expects to provide further updates on ENA101 and its platform expansion throughout 2026 as it executes on its mission to deliver new precision immunotherapies for patients with cancer.
About Scott Drutman, M.D., Ph.D.
Scott is an oncologist physician scientist passionate about translating scientific discoveries into treatments for cancer patients. He joins Enara Bio from Volastra Therapeutics where he was Chief Medical Officer and Head of Research & Development. Prior to that, Scott worked in oncology clinical development at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals across multiple assets and tumor types. Prior to Regeneron, Scott was an Instructor at The Rockefeller University, where his research focused on immunology and human genetics.
Scott completed his postdoctoral fellowship at The Rockefeller University, his medical oncology clinical fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and his internal medicine residency at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell. He received an undergraduate degree from Reed College, an M.D./Ph.D. from NYU School of Medicine, and an M.S. in clinical and translational investigation from The Rockefeller University.
About the EDAPT Platform
Enara Bio has built an industry-leading platform called EDAPT (Enara Dark Antigen Platform Technology) to pioneer the discovery and validation of Dark Antigens with best-in-class cancer target properties. EDAPT combines proprietary computational biology methods with cutting-edge proteomics of primary tumors and healthy tissues. This enables the discovery of novel antigens that conventional platforms are unable to find.
A rigorous multi-modal validation workflow is used to identify targets that have the greatest clinical potential. This includes multiple mass spectrometry-based proteomic approaches (DDA-MS, PRM-MS, DIA-MS), Ribo-seq, and highly sensitive RNA in situ hybridization (RNA-ISH). This integrated methodology enables Enara to confirm antigen presence on the surface of tumor cells, ensure minimal expression in healthy tissues, and establish homogeneous expression within tumors. Rather than being restricted to a single source or type of antigen, EDAPT identifies all major classes of Dark Antigens derived from across the genome. By pairing this breadth of discovery with depth of validation, we discover the most promising targets with the strongest therapeutic potential.
For more information on Dark Antigens and the EDAPT platform, please visit: https://enarabio.com/technology
About Enara Bio
Enara Bio is shining a light on Dark Antigen® and T-cell biology to develop cancer immunotherapies designed to improve treatment outcomes for broad populations of cancer patients with solid tumors. Our pioneering EDAPT® platform enables us to discover cancer-specific antigens, including HLA-presented and cell surface antigens, from previously uncharted genomic ‘dark matter’. The result is a growing library of Dark Antigens that can address the need for novel, cancer-specific targets in solid tumors. Through our proprietary EnTiCE® platform, Enara is developing novel bispecific T cell engagers against Dark Antigen targets that are highly prevalent and homogenously expressed across solid tumors. Based in Oxford, UK, Enara Bio is backed by a strong syndicate of life science investors including RA Capital, Pfizer Ventures, M Ventures, Samsara BioCapital, SV Health Investors, and the Francis Crick Institute.
For more information, visit: www.enarabio.com.
Dark Antigen®, DARKFOX™, EDAPT® and EnTiCE® are trademarks of Enara Bio.
Contacts
Kevin Pojasek, President & CEO
info@enarabio.com
Stacey Davis, CBO & CFO
stacey.davis@enarabio.com
Frazer Hall, Mark Swallow
MEDiSTRAVA
enarabio@medistrava.com
###
Attachment
Scott Drutman
Incoming Chief Medical Officer of Enara Bio
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
