# Howard L. Kaufman

> Howard L. Kaufman, M.D., FACS, is a surgical oncologist and cancer immunotherapy pioneer who serves as President and CEO of Ankyra Therapeutics, a Boston clinical-stage biotech developing anchored immunotherapies. He led the pivotal Phase III trial of T-VEC, the first oncolytic virus ever approved by the FDA for cancer, and has published more than 500 scientific papers over a 20-plus year research career. He now leads Ankyra's work on anchored IL-12 therapy, tolododekin alfa (ANK-101), aiming to deliver powerful immune drugs directly into tumors without the toxicity of systemic dosing.

- **Role:** President and CEO at Ankyra Therapeutics
- **Organizations:** Ankyra Therapeutics, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** M.D., Loyola University, Residency, General Surgery, Boston University, Fellowship, Tumor Immunology and Surgical Oncology, National Cancer Institute
- **Known for:** Led the pivotal Phase III trial of T-VEC (talimogene laherparepvec), the first oncolytic virus approved by the FDA for cancer, Directed the pivotal clinical trial of avelumab (anti-PD-L1) that gained approval for Merkel cell carcinoma, Published more than 500 peer-reviewed papers, books, reviews, and abstracts

## Career timeline

- **2014-2016** — Served as President of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC)
- **2015** — Pivotal Phase III OPTiM trial of T-VEC he helped lead resulted in the first FDA approval of an oncolytic virus for cancer
- **2021** — Joined Ankyra Therapeutics as Chief Medical Officer alongside the company's $45M Series B financing
- **2022** — Appointed President and CEO of Ankyra Therapeutics
- **2025** — Ankyra published Phase 1 ANCHOR trial data for tolododekin alfa (ANK-101) in Nature Communications and dosed first patients in combination trials

## Achievements

- Led the pivotal Phase III trial of T-VEC (talimogene laherparepvec), the first oncolytic virus approved by the FDA for cancer
- Directed the pivotal clinical trial of avelumab (anti-PD-L1) that gained approval for Merkel cell carcinoma
- Published more than 500 peer-reviewed papers, books, reviews, and abstracts
- Maintained a funded tumor immunology laboratory for over 20 years
- Served as President of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (2014-2016)
- Recipient of the Daland Prize, the MRF Humanitarian Award, and the UIC Distinguished Alumnus Award

## Latest updates

- **2025-09** — Ankyra published Part 1 results of the Phase 1 first-in-human ANCHOR trial of tolododekin alfa (ANK-101) in Nature Communications.
- **2025-04** — Ankyra presented Phase 1 clinical data at the 2025 AACR Annual Meeting and dosed the first patient with tolododekin alfa plus cemiplimab.
- **2025-11** — Ankyra announced it would present additional Phase 1 clinical data at the SITC Annual Meeting.

## Links

- Website: https://ankyratx.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/howard-kaufman-27238030
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/ankyratx

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/howard-kaufman
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Last updated: 2026-07-17