Adcytherix Powers Ahead: Technology and Team in Place to Deliver Strategy and Build an ADC Powerhouse
- Adcytherix reinforces its Executive Committee with two pivotal appointments: CMO and CFO
- The ADCX - Engine is operational to start driving execution
Marseille, France, November 17, 2025 - Adcytherix SAS, a biopharmaceutical company pioneering next-generation proprietary antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), today announced that it has finalized the setup of its ADCX - Engine, integrating next-generation payloads, and strengthened its executive team with the appointments of Jan H.M. Schellens, MD, PhD, as Chief Medical Officer and Jaime Arango, MBA, as Chief Financial Officer, to deliver on its ambitious strategy.
ADCX - Engine Ready to Deliver
At the core of Adcytherix’s strategy lies the ADCX - Engine, a proprietary approach integrating approved and clinically validated cancer drugs as payloads, using optimized, state-of-the-art linker architectures as well as precision antibody engineering. The ADCX-Engine enables the rational design of highly selective ADCs with fine-tuned conjugation parameters that extend beyond conventional payload classes, enhance stability, overcome resistance, and improve safety while achieving deeper, more durable anti-tumor responses across diverse cancer indications.
Strengthening the executive management team
The company also welcomes Jan H.M. Schellens, MD, PhD, as Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and Jaime Arango, MBA, as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), both joining the executive leadership team. These appointments reinforce Adcytherix’s position as a leader in ADC innovation and mark a key milestone in its transition from early-stage build-up to full execution. Both executives bring extensive experience and expertise, complementing the strong capabilities already in place, and further strengthening Adcytherix’s competencies in clinical development, translational oncology, and strategic finance.
Jack Elands, Chief Executive Officer of Adcytherix commented “the arrivals of Jan and Jaime strengthen our ability to translate our scientific breakthroughs into clinical value. Together, we are entering the phase of ADC development, delivering on the promise of novel ADCs using validated payloads with differentiated mechanisms of action focusing on patients who have developed resistance against today’s commonly used payloads. In addition to internal development, we are pursuing collaborative opportunities to bring new products to market faster and more effectively.”
“Adcytherix has established an exceptional foundation for translating science into patient benefit,” said Jan H.M. Schellens, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer. “I’m thrilled to lead the clinical development strategy as we advance ADCX-020 into first-in-human studies and advance the broader pipeline of innovative candidates into the clinic. My goal is to ensure that the design and execution of our first clinical programs fully reflect the transformative potential of the ADCX - Engine to deliver safer, more effective ADCs that truly redefine outcomes for patients with hard-to-treat cancers.”
“I’m excited to join Adcytherix at this pivotal moment, as the company transitions from start-up to execution,” said Jaime Arango, MBA, Chief Financial Officer. “With a robust financial foundation and strong investor backing, we are well positioned to accelerate our programs and deliver on our long-term value-creation strategy.”
Execution Roadmap
Following its €105 million Series A financing in 2025, Adcytherix has completed the build-out of its R&D infrastructure and expanded its scientific and management teams. Over the next few months, the team will focus on key execution milestones to become a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company with ADCX-020 and prepare the clinical entry for other proprietary and innovative ADCX programs.
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About Jan H.M. Schellens, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer
Jan Schellens is a medical oncologist and clinical pharmacologist by training, he previously served as staff member of the Department of Medical Oncology, as Head of the Department of Clinical Pharmacology at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI-AvL) and Professor of Clinical Pharmacology at Utrecht University.
Author of well over 900 scientific publications, Jan brings more than 20 years of experience in clinical drug research and 15 years in drug regulation, including service as a member and former Chair of the Scientific Advisory Group on Oncology of the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
About Jaime Arango, MBA, Chief Financial Officer
Jaime Arango previously served as Chief Financial Officer of TreeFrog Therapeutics and led the successful IPO of Medincell S.A. (2017–2023). With over 20 years of experience in the biopharma industry, he began his career at Biogen, later joining Merck & Co, where he held several regional and global financial leadership roles. Jaime holds dual Colombian and French citizenship, an engineering degree from the University of Los Andes (Colombia), and an MBA from HEC Paris.
About Adcytherix
Adcytherix is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel antibody drug conjugates (ADC) to treat high unmet need diseases such as cancer. The company was founded by Jack Elands and Pontifax Venture Capital with two other executives of Emergence Therapeutics, Xavier Preville and Carsten Dehning as cofounders. Adcytherix is led by a seasoned management team and is supported by a network of world-leading experts in the field of ADC development. Backed by a syndicate of leading life science investors including Bpifrance Investissement, Kurma Partners, Angelini Ventures, Andera Partners, Pontifax, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), Pureos Bioventures, aMoon, RA Capital Management and DawnBiopharma (a platform controlled by KKR), Adcytherix’s ambition is to become a significant independent ADC powerhouse driving the development of transformational ADC technology for targeted cancer therapy.
Adcytherix is based in Marseille, France, with subsidiaries in the US and the Netherlands. For more information, please visit www.adcytherix.com.
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