Akari Therapeutics Appoints Globally Recognized Expert in RNA Biology and Cancer Research, Olga Anczukow, Ph.D., to its Scientific Advisory Board
TAMPA, Fla. and LONDON, Feb. 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Akari Therapeutics, Plc (NASDAQ:AKTX), an oncology biotechnology company developing antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) with novel immuno-oncology payloads, today announced the appointment of Olga Anczukow, Ph.D. to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB).
Abizer Gaslightwala, President and Chief Executive Officer of Akari Therapeutics commented, "Dr. Anczukow is a leading authority in RNA splicing and cancer biology, an area of growing importance for the development of next-generation therapeutics. Her scientific rigor, translational mindset, and experience advancing RNA-focused discoveries toward clinical relevance make her an outstanding addition to our Scientific Advisory Board. We are excited to leverage her expertise and guidance as we continue to advance our novel PH1 ADC payload which uniquely targets RNA splicing in cancer cells."
"I am pleased to join Akari's Scientific Advisory Board and believe their thoughtful, science-driven approach to therapeutic development continues to show great promise," said Dr. Olga Anczukow. "I look forward to collaborating with the team to help shape research strategy, evaluate emerging scientific opportunities, and support the translation of promising biological mechanisms into clinically relevant programs."
Dr. Anczukow, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized leader in RNA biology and cancer research. She currently serves as an Associate Professor at The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine and a Co-Program Leader at the NCI-designated Jackson Laboratory Cancer Center, and holds a joint faculty appointment at University of Connecticut School of Medicine, where she leads a multidisciplinary research program focused on elucidating the mechanisms by which alternative RNA splicing, a fundamental process in gene expression regulation, becomes misregulated in cancer and drives tumor initiation, progression, metastasis, and therapeutic resistance. Her work bridges fundamental molecular biology with translational research aimed at identifying biomarkers and novel therapeutic targets.
Dr. Anczukow earned her Ph.D. from Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 in France, where her doctoral research focused on breast cancer genetics, including mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 and their impact on RNA processing. During this period, she made seminal contributions demonstrating that mutations affecting RNA splicing and transcript stability play a critical role in cancer biology and that RNA-based therapeutic strategies can correct aberrant splicing defects, laying groundwork for emerging RNA-targeted treatments. She subsequently completed postdoctoral training at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, one of the world's premier centers for basic research. There, she further advanced understanding of how alterations in splicing factors contribute to tumor development and metastatic progression, strengthening the mechanistic foundation for targeting RNA regulation in cancer.
At The Jackson Laboratory, Dr. Anczukow leads a highly collaborative laboratory that integrates genomics, molecular biology, patient-derived organoids, and in vivo models to investigate how cancer cells rewire splicing programs to survive and evade therapy. Her research has broad relevance across multiple cancer types and has been published in leading scientific journals, including Nature Reviews Cancer. Dr. Anczukow also actively participates in collaborative efforts that span basic RNA biology, translational cancer research, and emerging therapeutic modalities. Her ongoing research has been supported by competitive federal and private funding, highlighting her role at the forefront of efforts to translate fundamental insights into clinical innovations for cancer and age-associated diseases.
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 and 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 tubulin 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 system to drive robust and durable activity. In preclinical studies, AKTX-101 has 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, ARV7, 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 late 2026/early 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 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.
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