Internationally Recognized Thought Leader in Immuno-Oncology Drug Development
Brings Nearly Three Decades of Clinical Oncology Experience Across Pharma, Biotech and Research Organizations
OXFORD, England, Sept. 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Pathios Therapeutics Limited (“Pathios”), a biotech company advancing the first clinical GPR65 antagonist program in cancer, today announced that Jon Wigginton, M.D., has been appointed as a non-executive director to the company’s board of directors. Dr. Wigginton, an internationally recognized expert in immunotherapy drug development, has more than 25 years of experience in clinical oncology spanning tenures at large global pharmaceutical companies, clinical-stage biotechs, and prestigious research organizations.
Dr. Wigginton currently serves as President of Research and Development at Bright Peak Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company in the immuno-oncology (I-O) space. In this role, he is charged with leading the advancement of the company’s “next-generation” multi-functional PD-1 inhibitors. Prior to joining Bright Peak Therapeutics, Dr. Wigginton held the position of Senior Advisor and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board at Cullinan Oncology, Inc., having also previously served as the company’s Chief Medical Officer. He was formerly the Chief Medical Officer at MacroGenics, where he led the company’s evolution of a fully-integrated clinical-stage cancer immunotherapy organization.
During his career Dr. Wigginton has also held leadership positions at Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), including Therapeutic Area Head and Executive Director, Immuno-Oncology Early Clinical Research. While at BMS, he led early clinical development of the company’s immuno-oncology portfolio, including checkpoint inhibitors such as anti-PD-1 (Opdivo®) and anti-PD-L1 (BMS-936559), checkpoint inhibitor-based combinations including anti-CTLA-4 (Yervoy®)/anti-PD-1 (Opdivo®) among others, and a spectrum of other I-O agents. He also co-founded and co-led the BMS International Immuno-Oncology Network (IION). Dr. Wigginton also previously served as President of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC). Earlier in his career, Dr. Wigginton worked at the National Cancer Institute for 15 years and served as Head of the Investigational Biologics Section in the Center for Cancer Research (NCI intramural program). He is also currently a member of the board of directors of Sutro Biopharma.
“Jon is a recognised leader in the field of immuno-oncology drug development and having the ability to access his vast expertise as a member of the Pathios board will serve the company well as we advance our first-in-class oral small molecule GPR65 antagonist programs,” said Paul Higham, Chief Executive Officer of Pathios. “He joins the company at a particularly exciting time as we advance our lead development asset, PTT-4256, through an ongoing clinical trial in solid tumours. As we continue this clinical development momentum, we’ll be keen to draw upon Jon’s decades of drug development experience as a guide for optimizing our efforts.”
“The terrific team, and its first-in-class approach to attacking cancer, position Pathios Therapeutics as a very exciting new clinical-stage company in the immuno-oncology field. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to serve on the board and offer my support to the team,” said Dr. Wigginton. “By pioneering the targeting of GPR65 as an anti-cancer mechanism, Pathios is advancing an innovative treatment strategy that seeks to override tumour micro-environment immunosuppression and drive immune-mediating cancer cell killing. I look forward to supporting Pathios as PTT-4256 is advanced in the RAISIC-1 clinical trial as a new approach for cancer immunotherapy.”
Pathios is pursuing a first-of-its-kind therapeutic approach that leverages the therapeutic potential of GPR65 antagonism. The company’s lead program, PTT-4256, is a clinical-stage, first-in-class oral small molecule GPR65 antagonist that targets a fundamental biological mechanism that is co-opted by all solid tumours to foster immunosuppressive polarization of immune cells. GPR65, an acid-sensing G protein-coupled receptor, is exclusively expressed on immune cells and is associated with driving the immunosuppressive immune cell phenotype in the tumour microenvironment (TME) that prevents immune-mediated killing of cancer cells. Antagonism of GPR65 has been shown to rapidly upregulate anti-tumour natural killer and T cell genes while downregulating pro-tumour myeloid genes.
Pathios’ internal human genetic analysis provides insights that reductions in GPR65 function are associated with significantly improved survival across a range of solid tumour types, positioning it as a unique immuno-oncology target for therapeutic intervention. Preclinical data for PTT-4256 have demonstrated that the compound possesses excellent drug-like properties and impressive monotherapy anti-tumour activity. The company is currently evaluating PTT-4256 in the RAISIC-1 trial (Relief of Acidic Immune Suppression in Cancer), a modular multi-part, multi-arm open-label Phase 1/2 clinical study in patients with a range of advanced solid tumours.
About Pathios Therapeutics
Pathios is a drug discovery and development company focused on translating innovative science into new medicines. Pathios was founded by a team of experienced biotech and pharmaceutical industry professionals, entrepreneurs, and clinicians. The company is focused on developing small molecule antagonists of the pH-sensing G protein-coupled receptor GPR65 to counteract the GPR65-mediated immunosuppressive polarization of immune cells. To date, Pathios has raised a total of US$58M including support from the leading venture capital firms, Canaan and Brandon Capital, as well as a strategic investment from Bristol Myers Squibb. Pathios is headquartered on Milton Park, a key science precinct south of Oxford, UK, where it is part of the unique Molecule to Medicine (MTM) drug discovery and development ecosystem.
For more information, please visit www.pathios.com.
Contacts:
Pathios Therapeutics
Paul Higham, CEO
+44 1235 644 960
[email protected]
Tom McCarthy, Executive Chair of Pathios Therapeutics and MTM
+44 1235 644 960
[email protected]
Vida Strategic Partners (on behalf of Pathios Therapeutics)
Tim Brons
+1 646 319 8981
[email protected]
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SOURCE Pathios Therapeutics
