# Rachel Humphrey

> Rachel W. Humphrey, MD, is the founding CEO of Normunity, a Boston and New Haven biotech building a new class of cancer drugs called immune normalizers, drugs designed to free the immune system to attack tumors it normally ignores. Before Normunity she helped bring three blockbuster cancer therapies to patients: Yervoy at Bristol Myers Squibb, Imfinzi at AstraZeneca, and Nexavar at Bayer. She partnered with Yale immunology pioneer Lieping Chen to translate his discoveries at the cancer-immune interface into medicines, raising $65M to launch in 2022 and a $75M Series B in January 2025 to push lead program NRM-823 into the clinic.

- **Role:** President and Founding CEO at Normunity
- **Organizations:** Normunity, Bristol Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Black Diamond Therapeutics, CytomX Therapeutics, Mirati Therapeutics, National Cancer Institute, Pyxis Oncology, Sporos Bioventures, Xilio Therapeutics
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA, Biochemistry, Harvard University, MD, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Residency, Internal Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Oncology fellowship and staff physician, National Cancer Institute
- **Known for:** Helped bring three approved cancer therapies to patients: Yervoy (BMS), Imfinzi (AstraZeneca), and Nexavar (Bayer), Founding CEO of Normunity, pioneering the immune normalizer drug class, Raised $65M Series A (2022) and $75M Series B (2025) for Normunity

## Career timeline

- **1992** — Trained in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins; became oncology fellow and staff physician at the National Cancer Institute
- **2000s** — Led clinical development of Yervoy (ipilimumab), a CTLA-4 immunotherapy, at Bristol Myers Squibb
- **2000s** — Worked on Nexavar (sorafenib), a kinase inhibitor, at Bayer
- **2010s** — Led development of Imfinzi (durvalumab), a PD-L1 immunotherapy, at AstraZeneca
- **2010s-2020s** — Served as Chief Medical Officer at Black Diamond Therapeutics, CytomX Therapeutics, and Mirati Therapeutics
- **2022** — Co-founded Normunity with Yale's Lieping Chen and launched with $65M Series A as founding CEO
- **2025-01** — Closed $75M Series B to advance lead program NRM-823 into Phase 1 and broaden pipeline

## Achievements

- Helped bring three approved cancer therapies to patients: Yervoy (BMS), Imfinzi (AstraZeneca), and Nexavar (Bayer)
- Founding CEO of Normunity, pioneering the immune normalizer drug class
- Raised $65M Series A (2022) and $75M Series B (2025) for Normunity
- Held Chief Medical Officer roles at three biotechs (Black Diamond, CytomX, Mirati)
- Serves on boards of Pyxis Oncology and Sporos Bioventures; previously CytomX and Xilio Therapeutics

## Latest updates

- **2025-01** — Normunity closed a $75M Series B co-led by Samsara BioCapital and Enavate Sciences, with Regeneron Ventures, Pfizer Ventures, and others, to fund the Phase 1 trial of NRM-823.
- **2025-08** — Featured with CMO Melinda Merchant in industry discussions on immuno-oncology drug development and the 'Leading Beyond the Lab' podcast.

## Links

- Website: https://normunity.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-w-humphrey-md-116b211b
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/normunity

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/rachel-humphrey
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-03