Biopharma industry veteran, founder of Medivation and serial entrepreneur Dr David Hung has become chairman of Cambridge biotech start-up T-Therapeutics. He will support development of the company’s pipeline of TCR-based immuno-oncology drugs.

T-Therapeutics is developing next-generation soluble TCR therapeutics targeting cancer and autoimmune indications.

Dr Hung is a hugely successful serial entrepreneur in the oncology space. He founded Medivation in 2003 and it was sold to Pfizer for $14.3 billion in 2016.

At Medivation, Dr Hung identified, in-licensed and led bench-to-bedside development of enzalutamide (XTANDI®) for advanced prostate cancer, taking it from first in vitro laboratory experiment to FDA approval in seven years, one of the fastest development timelines in pharmaceutical history. XTANDI, approved in more than 60 countries, is one of the top cancer drugs by revenue, reaching blockbuster drug status and exceeding $6 billion in global annual sales in 2023.

Prior to founding Medivation, Dr Hung served as President and CEO of ProDuct Health, a venture-backed startup medical device company founded in 1998 that developed, manufactured and commercialised a breast microcatheter – invented by Dr Hung – for breast cancer risk assessment.

ProDuct Health was acquired in 2001 for $168 million by Cytyc Corporation.

Dr Hung is currently President and CEO of Nuvation Bio, which he founded in 2018, a late-stage biopharma developing differentiated and novel therapeutic candidates to tackle some of the greatest unmet needs in oncology.

Dr Hung received an A.B. summa cum laude in biology from Harvard College and an M.D. Alpha Omega Alpha from the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine.

He completed simultaneous clinical fellowships in haematology, oncology and transfusion medicine as well as two basic science research fellowships in molecular biology at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine.

Life Sciences serial entrepreneur Professor Allan Bradley, CEO of T-Therapeutics, commented: “Having followed David’s career for many years, I’m delighted that he is joining T-Therapeutics’ Board as Chair.

“David brings a wealth of scientific, clinical and company building experience to our Board. I look forward to drawing on his deep understanding of drug development in the oncology space, as well as his substantial experience in building biotechnology companies as we work to develop a pipeline of drugs designed to reshape the clinical landscape for cancer patients.”

Dr Hung added: “I’m excited to work with Allan and his very experienced team to help realise their vision. T-Therapeutics has an unusually strong and unique scientific foundation that is being leveraged to build a pipeline of transformative medicines.

“The team have an excellent track record of successful development of drugs that leverage immune cell biology. I believe their unique TCR platform has the potential to deliver a pipeline of transformative medicines.”

In November 2023 T-Therapeutics announced a £48m series A fundraise for the development of next-generation TCR therapeutics to transform cancer treatment, led by Sofinnova Partners, F-Prime Capital, Digitalis Ventures and Cambridge Innovation Capital with participation from Sanofi Ventures and the University of Cambridge Venture Fund.