# Ankyra Therapeutics

> Ankyra Therapeutics is a clinical-stage Boston biotech developing anchored immunotherapy - a platform that physically tethers potent immune-modulating drugs to aluminum hydroxide so they stay concentrated inside a tumor rather than spreading through the body. Its lead candidate, tolododekin alfa (ANK-101), anchors the powerful cytokine IL-12 in the tumor microenvironment, aiming to unlock IL-12's anti-tumor activity while avoiding the systemic toxicity that has historically limited it. Founded in 2019 out of MIT science and led by CEO Howard L. Kaufman, the company is running Phase 1/1b trials in advanced solid tumors, including combinations with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

- **Founded:** 2019
- **Headquarters:** Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- **Founders:** Darrell Irvine (Co-Founder & Scientific Advisor (MIT/HHMI Professor)), K. Dane Wittrup (Co-Founder & Scientific Advisory Board (MIT Professor)), Tillman Gerngross (Co-Founder & Chairman)
- **Team size:** ~25 employees
- **Products:** Anchored Immunotherapy Platform, Tolododekin alfa (ANK-101)
- **Notable:** Advanced a first-in-class anchored IL-12 immunotherapy (ANK-101 / tolododekin alfa) from concept to human trials., Reported no dose-limiting toxicities across multiple difficult-to-treat solid tumor types in Phase 1., Published first-in-human Phase 1 data in Nature Communications (2025).

## Products & services

- **Anchored Immunotherapy Platform** — A drug-delivery technology that physically anchors therapeutic molecules to aluminum hydroxide (Alhydrogel), retaining them at the injection/disease site to maximize local drug concentration, prolong immune activation, and prevent systemic leakage.
- **Tolododekin alfa (ANK-101)** — Lead first-in-class investigational anchored IL-12 immunotherapy: a modified IL-12 cytokine complexed with aluminum hydroxide, injected intratumorally to recruit and activate effector immune cells locally while limiting systemic toxicity. In Phase 1/1b trials for advanced solid tumors, alone and combined with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitors.

## Achievements

- Advanced a first-in-class anchored IL-12 immunotherapy (ANK-101 / tolododekin alfa) from concept to human trials.
- Reported no dose-limiting toxicities across multiple difficult-to-treat solid tumor types in Phase 1.
- Published first-in-human Phase 1 data in Nature Communications (2025).
- Raised $45M Series B (2021) from top-tier investors including Fidelity and GV.
- Expanded into visceral (deep-tissue) tumor dosing and checkpoint-combination Phase 1b trials in lung cancer.

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Announced clinical poster presentations on novel IL-12 anchored immunotherapy at AACR 2026, including Phase 1b combination data in advanced non-small cell lung cancer.
- **2026-06** — Presented on IL-12 anchored immunotherapy at the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting.
- **2025-11** — Dosed first patient in a Phase 1b trial combining tolododekin alfa with immune checkpoint blockade in lung cancer patients.
- **2025-09** — First-in-human Phase 1 results for the IL-12 anchored drug conjugate published in Nature Communications.
- **2025-04** — Presented Phase 1 clinical data at AACR 2025; first patient dosed with tolododekin alfa plus cemiplimab.
- **2024-11** — First visceral (deep-tissue) tumor patient dosed in Part 2 of the Phase 1 ANCHOR trial of ANK-101.

## Links

- Website: https://ankyratx.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/ankyratx
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/ankyratx

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ankyra-therapeutics
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Last updated: 2026-07-22