CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Ankyra Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing anchored drug conjugate technology for cancer and other diseases, on Monday announced the appointment of Sailaja Battula, PhD, as its new chief scientific officer.
Dr. Battula brings more than a decade of scientific and leadership experience spanning immuno-oncology, drug discovery, inflammation, and autoimmunity. She has led programs from early discovery through late-stage development, built high-performing research teams, and established 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 of 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. Before that, she was Associate Director and Program Lead in Immuno-Oncology at Bicycle Therapeutics, where she led work on bicyclic peptides as T cell agonists, tumor-targeting bispecifics, and innate immune activators.
Earlier in her career, Dr. Battula contributed to immunology and inflammation programs at Forma Therapeutics and Applied Immunology.
She earned 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.
