# Markus Renschler

> Markus Renschler is a medical oncologist turned biotech operator who runs Light Horse Therapeutics, a San Diego small-molecule drug discovery company that launched in January 2025 with a $62 million Series A and a Novartis deal worth up to $1 billion. He spent 25 years moving cancer drugs from the lab bench to the pharmacy counter, helped register blockbuster therapies in breast, lung and pancreatic cancer at Celgene and Pharmion, and previously took Cyteir Therapeutics from a discovery-stage startup to a publicly traded company. He trained at Princeton and Stanford and once built patient-specific lymphoma vaccines in Ron Levy's lab.

- **Role:** Chief Executive Officer at Light Horse Therapeutics
- **Organizations:** Light Horse Therapeutics, Cyteir Therapeutics, Celgene, Pharmion, Pharmacyclics, Stanford University
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA, Princeton University, MD, Stanford University School of Medicine, Post-doctoral fellowship, Non-Hodgkin lymphoma immunotherapy, Stanford University (Ronald Levy lab)
- **Known for:** Led Light Horse Therapeutics' $62 million Series A financing (January 2025), Secured a Novartis collaboration worth a $25 million upfront payment and up to $1 billion in milestones, Took Cyteir Therapeutics from a private discovery-stage startup to a publicly traded clinical-stage company

## Career timeline

- **until 2015** — Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine (Oncology) at Stanford University; taught and treated lymphoma patients
- **2000s-2010s** — Senior clinical R&D, business development and medical affairs roles at Pharmacyclics, Pharmion and Celgene; global registrations across breast, lung and pancreatic cancer
- **to 2021** — President and CEO of Cyteir Therapeutics, taking it from discovery-stage startup to a publicly traded clinical-stage company
- **2025-01** — Light Horse Therapeutics debuts with $62 million Series A led by Versant Ventures; Renschler named CEO
- **2025** — Light Horse announces multi-target collaboration with Novartis: $25 million upfront, up to $1 billion in milestones plus royalties

## Achievements

- Led Light Horse Therapeutics' $62 million Series A financing (January 2025)
- Secured a Novartis collaboration worth a $25 million upfront payment and up to $1 billion in milestones
- Took Cyteir Therapeutics from a private discovery-stage startup to a publicly traded clinical-stage company
- Directed successful global drug registrations in breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer and pancreatic cancer
- Helped develop and launch lenalidomide, pomalidomide, nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane) and azacitidine
- Board-certified medical oncologist with research published from Stanford's Ronald Levy lab

## Latest updates

- **2025-01** — Light Horse Therapeutics emerged from stealth with a $62 million Series A and Renschler as CEO.
- **2025-01** — Light Horse unveiled a multi-target Novartis collaboration worth up to $1 billion in milestones.

## Links

- Website: https://lighthorsetx.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/markus-renschler

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/markus-renschler
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-10