Leap Therapeutics

The company was founded by individuals with deep roots in the venture capital and biopharmaceutical sectors. Christopher K. Mirabelli, Ph.D., served as the initial President and CEO from 2011 until 2020 and has been the Chairman of the Board since 2016. His background includes leadership roles at Millennium Pharmaceuticals and LeukoSite Inc., alongside his position as a managing director at HealthCare Ventures LLC. Douglas E. Onsi, the current President and CEO, has been with the company since its inception, initially as CFO, Treasurer, and Secretary. Onsi's experience includes serving as a managing director at HealthCare Ventures and holding various leadership positions at Genzyme Corporation. This collective experience in both drug development and venture financing has shaped Leap's strategy.

Leap's therapeutic pipeline is headlined by its lead candidate, sirexatamab (DKN-01), a humanized monoclonal antibody that targets the Dickkopf-1 (DKK1) protein. The DKK1 protein is implicated in tumorigenesis and is associated with poor clinical outcomes in several cancers. DKN-01 works by blocking DKK1's activity, which in turn is believed to reduce cancer cell proliferation, suppress immunosuppressive cells in the tumor microenvironment, and activate the innate immune system. The company is developing DKN-01 for patients with esophagogastric, gynecologic, and colorectal cancers, often in combination with other treatments like chemotherapy or checkpoint inhibitors. In addition to DKN-01, Leap's pipeline includes other monoclonal antibodies in various stages of development, such as FL-301, targeting Claudin18.2 for gastric and pancreatic cancer, and FL-501, targeting the GDF-15 protein.