Dedicated to Improving the lives of cancer patients.
Our team of academic entrepreneurs has a long record of developing and applying novel therapies in the oncology field.
Key Leaders of Aurora Oncology
L. Michael Glodé MD
Founder and President
Professor of Medicine
Serial entrepreneur:
(Gonex, ProTechSure)
Involved in development of ONTAK® and Lupron®
Dr. Glode has been a key clinical investigator in a number of urologic oncology trials and was co-PI on the Phase I, II, and III studies that led to the FDA approval of leuprolide. He continues to serve as a scientific advisor to a number of pharmaceutical companies in the urologic oncology space, including Jansen, Dendreon, Medivation, Exelixis among others.
Richard Duke, PhD
Chairman & Acting CEO
Serial entrepreneur: (GlobeImmune, ApopLogic, MenoGeniX) Assoc. Prof. of Medicine
Founder and CSO, CID4.
Prior experience:
(Janus Capital, DMRG)
Dr. Duke is Acting CEO and Chairman of the Board of Aurora Oncology and has an impressive track record in bringing basic science discoveries from the lab to the clinic. He was a founder of a number of successful startup biotechnology companies including GlobeImmune, ApopLogic, and heads the University of Colorado REACH program.
Shawn Zinnen, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
Serial entrepreneur:
(MBC Pharma, Osteros BioMedica, Zincyte,ProTechSure).
Prior experience:
(Sirna Therapeutics, Ribozyme Pharma)
Dr. Zinnen is the CEO of MBC Pharma and has over 20 years of experience in oncology drug discovery and early stage clinical drug development. He is the Chief Scientific Officer in charge of ongoing research activities.
Thomas Flaig, MD
Founder
Professor of Medicine
Chair, Clinical Practice Panel for Bladder Cancer, National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN)
Dr. Flaig is an active clinical and translational scientist who performed the murine experiments that led to the Phase I SBIR grant and is currently the Chair of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) bladder cancer guidelines panel. He serves the University of Colorado Cancer Center as the head of the Clinical Trials Office and is local PI for a number of ongoing pharmaceutical and NCI trials in bladder cancer.
Won Park, PhD, Founder SAB Member
Professor or Electrical, Computer and Energy engineering, University of Colorado Boulder. Expertise: Optics, Nanostructures and Bioengineering
Dr. Park’s nanophotonics lab at CU Boulder studies light-matter interaction in nanoscale materials and structures and deveop photonic devices based on them. Examples are plasmonic nanostructures, photonic crystals, metamaterials and metasurfaces, high-Q resonators, and luminescent materials. We conduct extensive theoretical modeling studies, synthesis and fabrication of nanostructures and spectroscopy and microscopy to demonstrate novel optical phenomena. Targeted applications include nonlinear and quantum optical devices, energy harvesting devices, biomedical imaging and nano-medicine approach for cancer treatment..
Dan Theodorescu, MD
Founder, SAB Member
Professor of Surgery
Director, Cedars-Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Institute.
Institute of Medicine
Expertise: Bladder cancer cell biology.
Dr. Theodorescu is an internationally recognized expert in bladder cancer biology. He was instrumental in founding Aurora Oncology and obtaining early SBIR funding. He remains on our Scientific Advisory Board
An outstanding record of translational research.
Aurora Oncology was founded in 2011 and subsequently licensed the intellectual property associated with DAB389EGF from the University of Colorado Denver. Major non-dilutive funding (>$2.4M in R43, R44 grants) from the NIH has positioned us to be able to begin human clinical trials. The company continues to develop its intellectual property with new provisional patent applications including the incorporation of Dr. Park’s diagnostic/therapeutic inventions. Aurora Oncology received a grant of $149,040 from Colorado Office of Economic Development and Trade (grant num. 13BGF-12), a grant of $146,880 from NIH/NCI (1R43CA174011-01), a $50,000 equity investment from CID4, and a grant of $50,000 from the Colorado Cancer Translation Research Accelerator. Since funding of the FastTrack SBIR grant, the company has received an additional $115,000 in State funding and a $100,000 grant from the University of Colorado SPARK program. These resources have been used to demonstrate preclinical proof-of-concept with the lead AUR-21 asset, to develop a companion diagnostic, and to enable a credible position to begin the significant fundraising needed to complete IND enabling work and enter the clinic.