Mr. Vat-Ho's appointment adds more than 20 years of oncology, biopharma and capital markets experience, including senior roles in transactions totaling more than $25 billion in aggregate value
Mr. Vat-Ho brings highly relevant ADC payload partnering experience, including recently executed collaborations with Exelixis and BioNTech
TAMPA, Fla. and LONDON, Oct. 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Akari Therapeutics, Plc (Nasdaq: AKTX), an oncology biotechnology company developing antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) with a novel RNA splicing disrupting payload, today announced the appointment of Vatnak Vat-Ho as Chief Business Officer, strengthening the Company’s leadership team with an accomplished oncology business development executive whose experience spans major biopharmaceutical transactions, ADC payload collaborations, capital markets and commercial strategy.
Mr. Vat-Ho brings more than 20 years of experience across oncology business development, biopharmaceutical strategy, equity research and healthcare investing. Throughout his career, he has led or held senior transaction roles in deals totaling more than $25 billion in aggregate value, including transactions and collaborations involving Pfizer, Exelixis, BioNTech, Merck KGaA, Roivant and Roche/Genentech.
Importantly for Akari, Mr. Vat-Ho brings direct and recent experience creating strategic collaborations in oncology, including novel ADC payload technology. Most recently, as Chief Business Officer of Ryvu Therapeutics, he originated and closed a collaboration with Exelixis involving a novel ADC payload, as well as a multi-target immuno-oncology research collaboration with BioNTech.
At Akari, Mr. Vat-Ho will lead corporate and business development, including corporate strategy, partnering and licensing, and investor engagement, as the Company advances its lead TROP2-targeted ADC, AKTX-101, toward the clinic and continues to develop the broader potential of its proprietary PH1 spliceosome-modulating payload platform.
“Vatnak is joining Akari at an important point in our evolution, and the relevance of his experience to our strategy is exceptional,” said Abizer Gaslightwala, Chief Executive Officer of Akari Therapeutics. “He has spent his career at the intersection of oncology innovation, strategic transactions and capital markets, and, importantly, he has recent direct experience structuring collaborations around novel ADC payload technology with leading oncology companies. As we advance AKTX-101 toward the clinic and continue to demonstrate the potential breadth of PH1, we believe there is a significant opportunity to create value not only through our wholly owned pipeline, but also through strategic partnerships that can expand the reach and application of our technology. Vatnak gives us additional leadership, relationships and transaction experience to pursue that opportunity with focus and discipline.”
“The ADC field is increasingly recognizing that the payload can be one of the most important drivers of differentiation and value, and I believe Akari has built something particularly compelling with PH1,” said Mr. Vat-Ho. “The combination of a differentiated mechanism of action, encouraging preclinical activity, potential immune activation and applicability across multiple tumor targets creates several potential avenues for value creation. I am excited to join Akari at this stage and work with Abizer and the team to advance AKTX-101, expand the strategic reach of the PH1 platform and pursue partnerships that can accelerate and broaden the development of this technology.”
About Vatnak Vat-Ho
Mr. Vat-Ho brings more than 20 years of experience spanning oncology business development, biopharmaceutical strategy, equity research and healthcare investing. Over his career, he has led or held senior transaction roles in deals totaling more than $25 billion in aggregate value, combining leadership of collaborations with major biopharmaceutical companies with an understanding of the clinical, commercial and financial factors that shape partnering and investment decisions.
Most recently, Mr. Vat-Ho served as Chief Business Officer and a member of the Management Board of Ryvu Therapeutics, where he originated and closed the company's collaboration with Exelixis on a novel ADC payload, as well as its multi-target immuno-oncology research collaboration with BioNTech. At Ryvu, he also oversaw partnering/BD, U.S. investor relations, commercial development and alliance management. Previously, as Vice President, Business Development at Affimed, he originated and closed a multi-target license and discovery collaboration with Roivant and served as alliance manager for the company's partnerships including Roche/Genentech.
Prior to that, Mr. Vat-Ho spent eight years at Pfizer Oncology in business development and commercial development, rising to Senior Director and Team Lead, Strategy, Business Development & Alliances. He worked on transactions including the $14 billion acquisition of Medivation, the $850 million upfront avelumab collaboration with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and several strategic financing and out-licensing transactions. He began his career in equity research and healthcare investing at firms including BMO Capital Markets and Broadfin Capital, building a foundation in valuation, capital markets and investor engagement.
Mr. Vat-Ho holds an A.B. in Biology from Harvard University and an M.B.A. from New York University's Leonard N. Stern School of Business.
About Akari Therapeutics
Akari Therapeutics is an oncology biotechnology company developing next-generation antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) with a unique payload, PH1, which targets RNA splicing. Utilizing its innovative ADC discovery platform, the Company has the ability to generate ADC candidates and optimize them based on the desired application to any antigen target of interest. Akari’s lead candidate, AKTX-101, targets the Trop2 receptor on cancer cells with a proprietary linker, enabling it to deliver its novel PH1 payload directly into the tumor with minimal off-target effects. Unlike current ADCs that use microtubule inhibitors and DNA-damaging agents as their payloads, PH1 is a novel payload that is a spliceosome modulator designed to disrupt RNA splicing within cancer cells. This splicing modulation has been shown in preclinical animal models to induce cancer cell death while activating both the innate and adaptive immune systems to drive robust and durable activity. In preclinical studies, AKTX-101 has been shown to have significant activity and prolonged survival relative to ADCs with traditional payloads. Additionally, AKTX-101 has the potential to be synergistic with checkpoint inhibitors and has demonstrated prolonged survival as both a single agent and in combination with checkpoint inhibitors. The PH1 payload has also been demonstrated to be very active against cancer cells with key oncogenic drivers such as KRAS, BRAF, AR-V7, FGFR3 fusions, and others. The Company has initiated IND enabling studies for AKTX-101 with a goal of starting its First-In-Human trial by mid-2027. Akari is also developing AKTX-102, an ADC candidate targeting CEACAM5 (Carcinoembryonic Antigen-related Cell Adhesion Molecule-5), a well-validated tumor antigen broadly expressed across multiple solid tumors. AKTX-102 is designed to leverage Akari’s proprietary PH1 spliceosome-modulating payload and a novel antibody construct to enable differentiated tumor cell killing and immune activation.
For more information about the Company, please visit www.akaritx.com and connect on X and LinkedIn.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes express or implied forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, about the Company that involve risks and uncertainties relating to future events and the future performance of the Company. Actual events or results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Words such as “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “continue,” “future,” “opportunity” “will likely result,” “target,” variations of such words, and similar expressions or negatives of these words are intended to identify such forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Examples of such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, express or implied statements regarding the ability of the Company to advance its product candidates for the treatment of cancer and the timing of a filing of an IND and commencement of a Phase I clinical trial. These statements are based on the Company’s current plans, estimates and projections. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific. A number of important factors, including those described in this communication, could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in any forward-looking statements. Factors that may affect future results and may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate include, without limitation: the Company’s need for additional capital; the potential impact of unforeseen liabilities, future capital expenditures, revenues, costs, expenses, earnings, synergies, economic performance, indebtedness, financial condition and losses on the future prospects, business and management strategies for the management, expansion and growth of the business; risks related to global as well as local political and economic conditions, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; potential delays or failures related to research and/or development of the Company’s programs or product candidates; risks related to any loss of the Company’s patents or other intellectual property rights; any interruptions of the supply chain for raw materials or manufacturing for the Company’s product candidates, including as a result of potential tariffs; the nature, timing, cost and possible success and therapeutic applications of product candidates being developed by the Company and/or its collaborators or licensees; the extent to which the results from the research and development programs conducted by the Company, and/or its collaborators or licensees may be replicated in other studies and/or lead to advancement of product candidates to clinical trials, therapeutic applications, or regulatory approval; uncertainty of the utilization, market acceptance, and commercial success of the Company’s product candidates; risks related to competition for the Company’s product candidates; and the Company’s ability to successfully develop or commercialize its product candidates. While the foregoing list of factors presented here is considered representative, no list should be considered to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. More detailed information about the Company and the risk factors that may affect the realization of forward-looking statements is set forth in the Company’s filings with the SEC, copies of which may be obtained from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. The Company assumes no, and hereby disclaims any, obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained in this press release except as required by law.
Investor Relations Contact
JTC Team, LLC
Jenene Thomas
908-824-0775
AKTX@jtcir.com
