CancerVax is a pre-clinical biotech company developing a novel Universal Cancer Treatment Platform that will be customizable as an injection, to treat many types of cancer. Powered by artificial intelligence, our revolutionary approach DETECTS, MARKS, and KILLS only cancer cells using the body’s own immune system. Other immunotherapies have had very limited success trying to teach the immune system how to recognize cancer cells. Instead, we intend to make cancer cells look like a common disease that it already recognizes, such as measles, and “trick” the body into killing these “disguised” cancer cells with strength. We look forward to the day when treating cancer will be as simple as getting a shot.

• Expert in the discovery, development, and translation of novel therapies across diverse therapeutic modalities
• Deep background in immunology and the tumor microenvironment
• Broad therapeutic domain expertise, including oncology, immunology, personalized medicine, and infectious diseases
• Part of teams that developed the first-in-human drug candidates, including small molecule STING agonists and personalized cancer neoantigen vaccine
• Co-authored more than 16 scientific papers and inventor on 3 issued U.S. patents and multiple pending applications
• Formerly Director of Discovery Biology at RAPT Therapeutics
• Formerly Senior Scientist and Head of Biochemistry at Aduro Biotech
• Received his B.S. in Plant Sciences from the University of California, Santa Cruz
• Received his PhD in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley

• An inventor of the Company’s Universal Cancer Treatment platform
• Expert computational biologist using next generation sequencing data to identify new drug targets and biomarkers of response to cancer therapeutics
• Formerly Bioinformatician at Xenter Medical Technologies
• Formerly Computational Scientist at RAPT Therapeutics
• Invented software to improve cancer antigen detection
• Invented a gene-signature approach to select treatment for breast cancer
• Received his B.S in Bioinformatics from Brigham Young University
• Received his PhD in Cancer Biology with an emphasis in Bioinformatics from the University of Arizona

Sumant Ramachandra serves as an Independent Director on the Board of Lyell Immunopharma (“Lyell”), following Lyell’s acquisition of ImmPACT Bio (“ImmPACT”) in October 2024. As CEO of ImmPACT from November 2021 until its acquisition, he led capital raises, secured clinical grants, and built a team that achieved FDA clearance for three Investigational New Drug (IND) applications, established manufacturing capabilities, and advanced multiple clinical studies.

In addition, Dr. Ramachandra currently serves as an advisor to private equity funds on companies in the pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and medical devices/software spaces.
Previously, Dr. Ramachandra served as Chief Science, Technology, and Medical Officer at Baxter International, starting in June 2017. He was also appointed President of Baxter Pharmaceuticals in 2019. Prior to Baxter, he held the role of Senior Vice President, Head of Research & Development, at Pfizer Essential Health, and served as Chief Scientific Officer at Hospira from 2008 until Pfizer acquired Hospira in 2015. Earlier in his career, Dr. Ramachandra held senior roles at Pfizer and Merck & Co., specializing in oncology, global product development, medical affairs, business development, and clinical pharmacology. He began his medical career as an intern and resident physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Ramachandra earned his undergraduate degree in biochemistry, a PhD in experimental pathology (with a focus on chronic lymphocytic leukemia), and an MD from Rutgers University. He also holds an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.