Ankyra Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering anchored immunotherapy for people with cancer and other serious diseases, is pleased to announce two new members, Sara Isabel Pai, MD, PhD, and Ann W. Silk, MD, MS, who will both serve on Ankyra Therapeutic’s Scientific Advisory Board.

“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Pai and Dr. Silk to our Scientific Advisory Board,” said Howard L. Kaufman, MD, president and CEO of Ankyra. “Dr. Silk has considerable expertise with local immunotherapy and Dr. Pai brings strong experience in head and neck cancer immunology. Their leadership in the field and experience in conducting immuno-oncology studies will provide us with valuable guidance as we continue to advance our therapeutic programs and clinical development strategy.”

Dr. Pai is a head and neck surgical oncologist at the Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale New Haven Hospital and a Professor of Surgery at Yale School of Medicine. She specializes in head and neck cancers associated with human papillomavirus (HPV), thyroid and parathyroid cancers, and clinical trials. Her research focuses on cancer immunotherapy, including mechanisms by which HPV evades the immune system and strategies to reactivate immune responses against HPV-related cancer cells. She completed her medical and doctoral degrees at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and her residency in otolaryngology–head and neck surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Pai has led investigator-initiated and industry-sponsored clinical trials. She is board-certified in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and has authored more than 140 peer-reviewed publications. Her work has contributed to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s orphan drug designation for pembrolizumab in recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, a rare HPV-driven condition.

Dr. Silk is a medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She specializes in advanced and cutaneous skin cancers and is recognized for her clinical expertise and research in therapeutic immunology. Dr. Silk is pleased to join the SAB because “The ability to deliver powerful, long-lasting cytokines directly into the tumor is an exciting new strategy. This is particularly important in patients with solid organ transplants and patients with autoimmune disease, for whom systemic immunotherapy is more risky.” Her clinical practice and research focus on improving outcomes for patients with complex advanced skin malignancies, including Merkel cell carcinoma, cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and melanoma. As a clinical investigator, Dr. Silk has served as principal investigator on multiple studies exploring intratumoral oncolytic viral therapy, cytokine therapy, cancer vaccines, and microbial-based cancer therapy. Dr. Silk earned her medical degree and Master of Science in Clinical Research from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, completed her internal medicine residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and completed her hematology and oncology fellowship at the University of Michigan Hospitals. She joined Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in 2019, where she co-leads the Merkel Cell Carcinoma Center of Excellence. She is board-certified in medical oncology and has authored more than 150 medical publications.

About tolododekin alfa

Tolododekin alfa is an investigational, first-in-class, interleukin-12 (IL-12)-anchored immunotherapy. IL-12 is a highly potent proinflammatory cytokine, but its therapeutic use has been limited by toxicity. With Ankyra’s anchoring technology, tolododekin alfa has been evaluated in early phase clinical trials designed to measure safety, local drug retention, and define preliminary clinical responses in patients with advanced solid tumors. Ankyra is also evaluating tolododekin alfa for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.

About Ankyra Therapeutics

Ankyra Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering anchored immunotherapy to deliver better outcomes for people with cancer and other serious immune-mediated diseases. Powered by its novel anchoring platform, Ankyra is developing novel therapies that unlock the full therapeutic potential of immune-modulating drugs once limited by toxicity. Anchored immunotherapies are designed to stay precisely at the disease site, allowing higher doses for greater therapeutic impact while limiting systemic exposure. Ankyra is advancing a robust pipeline of first-in-class therapies and strategic collaborations to shape the next generation of immunotherapy. For more information, please visit https://www.ankyratx.com.

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