Outrun Therapeutics expands leadership team with appointment of Matthew Fyfe as Chief Scientific Officer

• Brings extensive small molecule drug discovery, development, and clinical experience across multiple therapeutic areas
• Will drive application of Outrun's novel, proprietary X-E₃L platform for protein stabiliser discovery to develop a pipeline of high-quality drug candidates targeting E3 ligases
• Continues strong momentum following 2024 emergence from stealth with $10M seed financing

DUNDEE, Scotland, Jan. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Outrun Therapeutics ("Outrun"), the E3 ligase inhibitor and protein stabilisation specialist, today announces the appointment of Matthew Fyfe as its Chief Scientific Officer.

Matthew has over 25 years' experience in drug discovery and development across multiple target classes covering oncology, immunology, neurology, ophthalmology and metabolic disease. He joins from Storm Therapeutics — where he was Senior Vice President of Therapeutics — and has held Senior Leadership positions at various clinical stage biotech companies, delivering clinical candidates that have reached Phase 2 and beyond in several disease areas.

At Outrun, he will be responsible for the advancement of the Company's therapeutics portfolio derived from its novel, proprietary X-E₃L (Crosslinking E3 Labeller) technology platform which accelerates the discovery of first-in-class small molecule protein stabilising drugs targeting E3 ligases.

Dr Carolyn Porter, Chief Executive Officer at Outrun Therapeutics, said: "Matthew is a valuable addition to our leadership team, possessing a fantastic track record in the discovery and development of significant clinical stage programmes across diverse therapeutic areas. He joins at a pivotal time for Outrun, and his breadth of experience will be key as we continue our progress towards the clinic."

Matthew Fyfe, newly appointed Chief Scientific Officer at Outrun Therapeutics, commented: "Outrun's drug hunting approach is among the most innovative in the space, offering a unique opportunity to target E3 ligases for protein stabilisation using its powerful X-E₃L drug discovery platform, especially within the context of tumour suppression. I am excited to be able to leverage my knowledge and experience in drug discovery and development alongside the world-leading E3 ligase expertise offered by the Outrun team and its academic founder Professor Satpal Virdee to further drive innovation while delivering high-quality drug candidates."

Outrun's elegant X-E₃L platform enables the simplification and scaling of the study of E3 ligase targets, significantly reducing discovery time in the process. Through this platform, the Company has built a rich pipeline of highly valuable, first-in-class, small molecule E3 ligase inhibitors that prevent protein degradation, while identifying novel E3 ligase targets with potential in a range of therapeutic areas. Outrun's lead programme is a small molecule inhibitor of an E3 ligase that destabilises a tumour suppressor protein in hard-to-treat solid tumours.

About Outrun Therapeutics
Outrun Therapeutics is unlocking the therapeutic potential of protein stabilisation through E3 ligase inhibition to maintain levels of critical proteins that are otherwise degraded in certain diseases. Blocking E3 ligase activity with small molecules enables protein stabilisation "at source" in contrast to other approaches employing downstream interventions by larger, more challenging, molecular formats. E3 ligases are a critical part of the tagging mechanism used by healthy cells to destabilise and degrade proteins that are dispensable or mis-formed. Protein stabilisation could be applicable to a wide range of indications, including oncology and neurology.

Despite the very high interest in E3 ligases as therapeutic targets, they have been challenging to drug thus far. Outrun is addressing this roadblock through its world-class knowledge of E3 ligase biology and its proprietary X-E₃L discovery platform, which simplifies and dramatically scales the assessment of E3 ligase targets to significantly reduce discovery time and enable robust selectivity measurements across panels of E3 ligases. Outrun's lead programme is a small molecule inhibitor targeting an E3 ligase involved in the destabilisation and degradation of a tumour suppressor protein in hard-to-treat solid tumours.

Spun out of founder Professor Satpal Virdee's lab at the world-renowned MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit at the University of Dundee, Outrun is led by a seasoned management team with a strong track record in creating robust biopharma businesses. It is backed by M Ventures and MP Healthcare Venture Management. For more information, see: https://outruntx.com

About Matthew Fyfe
Matthew has over 25 years' experience in drug discovery and development, having formerly held Senior Leadership positions at Storm Therapeutics (Cambridge), Sitryx (Oxford), TopiVert (London), Oryzon (Barcelona) and Prosidion (Oxford). He has successfully led diverse research programs and multidisciplinary teams in various therapeutic areas, delivering clinical candidates that have reached Phase 2 or further in oncology, immunology, metabolic disease, neurology and ophthalmology. Matthew obtained degrees from the University of Glasgow (BSc), Columbia University (MA) and the University of Birmingham (PhD) prior to postdoctoral studies at UCLA with Nobel prize winner Sir Fraser Stoddart. He is a Chartered Chemist, a Fellow of The Royal Society of Chemistry, an author of more than 40 peer-reviewed publications and an inventor on over 100 published patent families.

SOURCE Outrun Therapeutics