Welcome to Partnology’s Biotech Leader Spotlight Series, where we highlight the remarkable accomplishments and visionary leadership of biotech industry pioneers. This series is about showcasing the groundbreaking strides made by exceptional leaders who have transformed scientific possibilities into tangible realities. Through insightful interviews, we invite you to join us in following the inspiring journeys of these executives who continue to shape the landscape of the biotech industry. This week we are recognizing:
Dr. Ugur Eskiocak is a cancer biologist and biotech entrepreneur with extensive expertise in immuno-oncology, drug development, and translational sciences. He is the CEO & Co-Founder of Voro Therapeutics, where he leads the development of tumor-activated multi-specific antibodies (PrimeBody) to enhance cancer immunotherapy. Previously, he was an Entrepreneur in Residence at Alloy Therapeutics, supporting biotech startups and advancing drug discovery. His industry experience includes leadership roles at Janux Therapeutics, Takeda, Xilio Therapeutics, and Compass Therapeutics, where he directed translational and in vivo pharmacology programs, contributing to IND-enabling studies and Phase 1 clinical trials.
Dr. Eskiocak began his career in academia, conducting postdoctoral research at UT Southwestern Medical Center, where his work on melanoma metastasis led to a Phase 1b clinical trial. He earned his Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from UT Southwestern and holds a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics from Middle East Technical University.
Walk me through your career, highlighting the most pivotal moments or decisions throughout:
I’m a cancer biologist by training. I completed my PhD in colon cancer research and a postdoc in melanoma, both of which were drug discovery-focused projects. Even in an academic setting, I always had an eye for translational research—working to develop drugs that could directly benefit patients.
During my postdoc, we made a discovery in the lab that led to a clinical trial within the same institute—UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. That was an eye-opening experience. I would go into surgeries, where the surgeons would hand me the resected tumors. I’d then rush back to the vivarium, implant those tumors into mice, and both the patients and the mice would receive the same combination therapy simultaneously. It was an incredible opportunity that gave me firsthand insight into translational and clinical research. That experience ultimately shaped my decision to transition into industry, where I could pursue drug development in a professional setting with a much faster pace.
Throughout my career, I’ve been part of multiple startups from the ground up as an early employee, which has given me visibility into all aspects of biotech—not just the research and drug development aspects but also the business side, from bench to boardroom. Over the years, I’ve worked at three startups and one pharma company, always in leadership roles focused on in vivo pharmacology or translational sciences. I’ve been fortunate to advance six immuno-oncology programs through IND-enabling studies and into the clinic. Five of those INDs were for conditionally activated therapeutics with masked biologics, and over time, I’ve developed deep expertise in this modality.
I joined Alloy three years ago as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence to help our portfolio companies develop and execute their translational strategy. At the same time, I was given freedom to ideate on what became Voro Therapeutics. Once we developed the concept, we went through a typical venture due diligence process culminating in an investment committee and recommendation to support Voro. We developed a novel masking technology with key advantages over existing approaches and are applying it to leverage macrophages—positioning us for a breakthrough in this field, similar to how other masking technologies are now demonstrating clinical activity in the T cell engager space.
Voro Therapeutics focuses on cancer immunotherapy—can you share more about the company’s scientific approach and how it differentiates from other immunotherapy strategies?
What we’re working on is a technology that enables systemic delivery of therapeutics while ensuring local action within tumors. The reason for this approach is that many immuno-oncology therapies are highly toxic, or their targets are also expressed in healthy tissues outside the tumor. This creates both safety concerns and pharmacological challenges, often requiring significantly higher dosing to saturate normal tissues before the drug even reaches the tumor.
Our technology allows us to systemically deliver these drugs while preventing them from binding to targets in normal tissues or circulating in the blood. This ensures that the drug is selectively activated locally within the tumor, helping to mitigate toxicity and maximize exposure in the tumors.
Can you explain the collaboration between Voro Therapeutics and Alloy Therapeutics?
Alloy has been a fantastic partner for us. They have a venture studio, and initially recruited me as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) to support their portfolio companies. My expertise has always been in answering the question: How do you take a drug from discovery through IND-enabling studies to Phase 1 clinical trials? Prior to founding Voro, I was supporting our immuno-oncology portfolio companies as an in-house consultant to guide that process.
Since founding Voro, they’ve been incredible partners. Having access to their cutting-edge platforms, scientists, bench space and business experts allowed us to efficiently develop our technology and obtain proof-of-concept data with a very lean team. As a first-time entrepreneur, it was important for me to be in an environment where I could learn from experienced mentors and colleagues. Being part of a venture studio with such talented people provided invaluable on-the-job training.
Even after graduating from the venture studio, I continue to turn to them for guidance. They remain our trusted drug discovery partners, and I value their insights on key business decisions.
What trends do you see shaping the future of immunotherapy and cancer research?
First, there have been significant advancements in other areas of cancer research, including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and radioligands. It’s encouraging to see progress in these areas. However, the clinical benefits have often been measured in months rather than years, which reinforces my belief that immuno-oncology (IO) remains essential for achieving long-term patient outcomes.
Immunotherapy isn’t going anywhere because, when it works, the benefits extend to years—and hopefully even cures—rather than just short-term improvements.
As for what’s next, I believe the next wave of breakthroughs will come from clever protein engineering approaches that integrate clinical learnings from the past decade. We’ve tried many strategies in immunotherapy over the years—now the question is: What can we learn from those experiences?
Instead of focusing solely on discovering novel targets, the emphasis should be on improving how we target known pathways. By leveraging state-of-the-art protein engineering, we can overcome past challenges and develop more effective and precise immunotherapies.
With the experience and insights you have gained, what advice would you give others aspiring to become a biotech Founder?
Drug development and building a company is hard. Make sure that you understand what you are getting into and that you are fully committed. That said, as I mentioned earlier, while drug development is challenging, we’re fortunate to be part of a highly supportive biotech community. Surrounding yourself with mentors, advisors, and peers is essential—it creates the ecosystem of support that you will undoubtedly need along the way.
I’ve been incredibly fortunate to learn from experienced drug developers and serial entrepreneurs, and I’m always amazed by their generosity with their time and advice. I don’t take that for granted. Now, whenever I can, I try to pay it forward. It’s true what they say: it takes a village—so make sure you build a great one.
