What we do
We at Stroma Biosciences are pioneers in understanding how cancer cells communicate with normal tissue, transforming their immediate environment. Our work is focused on the stromal compartment, which is essential for tumour growth and resistance to cancer therapies. We have developed a platform to develop novel first-in-class cancer therapeutics by targeting survival signals in the tumour stroma, thereby cutting this important lifeline for cancer cells. Using a validated disease activated platform screening primary tumour samples, our emerging pipeline includes several stromal targets to treat both solid and haematological malignancies.
What is
STROMA?
Cancer is a disease of tissues and not only of tumour cells. Therefore, treating the tissue rather than individual cancer cells is a paradigm-shifting approach to cancer therapy and substantially improves current cancer treatments.
Similar to normal cells, cancer cells depend on signals and support from their surrounding environment for survival, growth and resistance to therapies.
These signals derive from so-called stromal cells, which are mesenchymal cells in the tumour microenvironment. We are a group of pioneers committed to the development of novel anti-stromal therapies to treat cancer.
Stroma Biosciences has shown for the first time that targeting the tumour microenvironment is feasible and substantially improves current therapies for patients for which no curative treatments are available.
Who we are
John Beadle
Executive Chair
Andrew Moore
Co-founder & CTO
Ingo Ringshausen
Co-founder & CSO
Clive Stanway
Co-founder & Director of Drug Discovery
Patrick Hextall
Head of Antibody Development
Esther Baena
Head of Solid Tumour Biology
TONY RAYNHAM
Head of Medicinal Chemistry
Paul Wallace
Non-executive Director
Michale Bouskila-Chubb
Non-executive Director
Michael SalakO
Investor Director
Pursuing a pioneering approach to treat cancer
Mission
Be the world-leading biopharma company developing stroma therapies to tackle cancer by cutting the lifeline support of stroma for cancer cells.
Vision
To treat cancer as a tissue, thereby transforming palliative into curative treatments.
Our Values
Commitment to improve cancer therapies. We at Stroma Biosciences have devoted our careers to understand the origins of cancer to improve patients’ wellbeing.
Quality: We are a group of scientists and oncologists with more than 130 years’ cumulative experience in treating cancer patients, development of novel drugs and advanced cancer research. Our new treatments are developed under the highest scientific and clinical standards with an established pathway to clinical trials.
Collaborations: We believe that communication and collaborations are the route to success. Stroma Biosciences is embedded in the biomedical community in Cambridge, UK, with long standing collaborations with world-leading scientists and entrepreneurs.
Alongside our in-house programs we are actively seeking partners who wish to work with us and exploit our proprietary platform to develop novel therapies
WHY STROMA BIOSCIENCES
While recent advances in cancer therapy are aimed at improving therapies by harnessing immune cells, targeting the stromal compartment as anti-cancer therapy is a largely unexplored field. More than 15 years ago, we at Stroma Biosciences recognised the enormous potential of treating stromal cells to improve cancer therapies.
Historically, research has mainly been focused on cancer cells, under appreciating that cancer is a disease of tissues rather than of individual cells.
Our experience in the tumour microenvironment field, extending for more than a decade, puts us at the forefront of stroma research to develop novel therapies. Our proprietary stroma-focused platform identifies and enables validation of novel targets.
A paradigm shifting approach to cancer therapy
We have deciphered critical molecular mechanisms underlying stroma support of tumour cells and demonstrated that interference with the stroma-tumour communication substantially improves therapies, potentially eradicating cancer cells in vivo.
This paradigm-shifting approach to cancer therapy has already led to a phase II clinical trial, which will for the first time demonstrate the clinical potential of stroma therapies.
What´s
New
Stroma Biosciences has made the #21toWatch Companies Longlist
Stroma Biosciences is delighted to announce that it has made the #21toWatch Companies longlist. The highly respected annual #21toWatch campaign and awards programme showcases the people, companies and ‘things’ that are setting the standards of innovation and...
Stroma Biosciences Announces Appointment of New Chairman
Stroma Biosciences, Ltd, a Cambridge based oncology company today announced the appointment of Dr John Beadle as Executive Chairman. Dr Beadle, who previously held the role of CEO at PsiOxus Therapeutics, joins the Stroma Board at a critical time for growth of the...
Seed funding investment
We are delighted to have raised seed funding investment from Start Codon. The funding will support the development of our research platform and generation of data for our novel targets. Start Codon link: Startcodon.co
Science Translational medicine Cover
Stroma Biosciences co-founders have been accepted as the cover story in Science Translational Medicine for their work on the tumour microenvironment. The research found that treating the normal cells near to the cancer cells with small molecule inhibitors...
Investors
Contact
us
If you would like to know more about Stroma Biosciences, or would like to discuss partnership or investment please contact us.
