About Us

Overview

Cend is a clinical-stage biotech company focused on a novel approach to provide more effective treatments to address a range of solid tumor cancers.

We focus on solid tumor cancers where the tissue surrounding the tumor, or stroma, is a primary impediment for drugs to reach tumor cells for effective treatment. Cend’s targeted approach penetrates the stroma to more effectively treat solid tumor cancers. Cend’s treatment approach also alters immunosuppressive tumor microenvironments so that patients’ immune system and/or immunotherapies can more effectively fight cancer.

Management

  • Erkki Ruoslahti, MD, PhD

    Scientific Founder & Chairman

    Dr. Ruoslahti is a former Distinguished Professor and had been President of the at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute. He has pioneered several important areas in biology, biochemistry and cancer research. He was one of the discoverers of fibronectin, discovered the RGD cell adhesion sequence in fibronectin and RGD-directed integrins. He subsequently developed in vivo phage display screening to identify tissue-specific targeting peptides, which resulted in the discovery of tumor-penetrating peptides, such as iRGD, and the CendR transport system in his laboratory. Dr. Ruoslahti is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Medicine. His scientific awards include the Canadian Gairdner International Award and the Japan Prize. On the entrepreneurial side, Dr. Ruoslahti is an inventor of about 150 patents and a fellow of National Academy of Inventors. He has started a number of biotech companies as a founder, including Cend Therapeutics.

  • David Slack, MBA

    President & CEO

    Mr. Slack is an industry veteran with over 25 years’ experience in public and private biotech as well as large pharmaceutical companies. He has been responsible for numerous company financings, strategic alliances and other partnerships. He joined the Cend Therapeutics’ Board in October 2019 and was appointed President and CEO in June 2020. Most recently, David served as co-founding Chief Business Officer at Viracta Therapeutics. Previously, David served as Vice President for Business Development at leading antisense drug company, Ionis Pharmaceuticals. David served in senior management positions as Rhône-Poulenc Rorer, RPR Gencell and Aventis Pharmaceuticals.

  • Harri Jarvelainen, PhD, DVM

    Chief Operating Officer

    Dr. Jarvelainen has more than 25 years of diverse scientific, managerial and executive experience, including more than 15 years in pharmaceutical industry. He has been a part of over 30 drug development programs and served in senior management roles in companies including AstraZeneca. Harri was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Cend Therapeutics in July 2017. He received his Veterinary Medicine and PhD degrees at University of Helsinki and undertook postdoctoral training at New York University Medical Center and Max Planck Institute. He is an author on over 30 peer-reviewed scientific publications and is as an Adjunct Professor of Toxicology at University of Helsinki.

Scientific Founder & Chairman

Erkki Ruoslahti, MD, PhD

Dr. Ruoslahti is a former Distinguished Professor and had been President of the at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute. He has pioneered several important areas in biology, biochemistry and cancer research. He was one of the discoverers of fibronectin, discovered the RGD cell adhesion sequence in fibronectin and RGD-directed integrins. He subsequently developed in vivo phage display screening to identify tissue-specific targeting peptides, which resulted in the discovery of tumor-penetrating peptides, such as iRGD, and the CendR transport system in his laboratory. Dr. Ruoslahti is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Medicine. His scientific awards include the Canadian Gairdner International Award and the Japan Prize. On the entrepreneurial side, Dr. Ruoslahti is an inventor of about 150 patents and a fellow of National Academy of Inventors. He has started a number of biotech companies as a founder, including Cend Therapeutics.

President & CEO

David Slack, MBA

Mr. Slack is an industry veteran with over 25 years’ experience in public and private biotech as well as large pharmaceutical companies. He has been responsible for numerous company financings, strategic alliances and other partnerships. He joined the Cend Therapeutics’ Board in October 2019 and was appointed President and CEO in June 2020. Most recently, David served as co-founding Chief Business Officer at Viracta Therapeutics. Previously, David served as Vice President for Business Development at leading antisense drug company, Ionis Pharmaceuticals. David served in senior management positions as Rhône-Poulenc Rorer, RPR Gencell and Aventis Pharmaceuticals.

Chief Operating Officer

Harri Jarvelainen, PhD, DVM

Dr. Jarvelainen has more than 25 years of diverse scientific, managerial and executive experience, including more than 15 years in pharmaceutical industry. He has been a part of over 30 drug development programs and served in senior management roles in companies including AstraZeneca. Harri was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Cend Therapeutics in July 2017. He received his Veterinary Medicine and PhD degrees at University of Helsinki and undertook postdoctoral training at New York University Medical Center and Max Planck Institute. He is an author on over 30 peer-reviewed scientific publications and is as an Adjunct Professor of Toxicology at University of Helsinki.

"Cend aims at transforming the treatment of solid tumor cancers. The Company’s CendR technology takes advantage of a pathway that is normally utilized for nutrient uptake by tissues, and that tumors shave hijacked to serve their own nutrient needs . By activating this pathway in tumors, we harness it to specifically enhance drug delivery  to tumors. Importantly, the pathway is also active in tumor stroma, converting this  major impediment  to drug delivery into a conduit for drug entry into tumors."

Erkki Ruoslahti, MD, PhD

Scientific Founder & Chairman

Board of Directors

Scientific Advisory Board

  • Erkki Ruoslahti, MD, PhD

    SAB Chairman, Scientific founder of Cend; previously Distinguished Professor and had been President of the at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute

  • Sangeeta Bhatia, MD, PhD

    Professor, MIT & HHMI, Director, Marble Center for Cancer Nanomedicine

  • Frank Slack, PhD

    Professor, Harvard Medical School, Director, Harvard Center for RNA Medicine

  • Michael Sailor, PhD

    Distinguished Professor, UCSD, Director, UCSD Institute for Materials Discovery & Design

  • Kazuki Sugahara, MD, PhD

    Physician and scientist at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

  • Tambet Teesalu, PhD

    Professor of Nanomedicine and head of Cancer Biology at University of Tartu, Estonia