Cumulus Oncology appoints Edinburgh Uni neuroscience graduate as chief operating officer

Drug discovery accelerator Cumulus Oncology has appointed University of Edinburgh neuroscience graduate Clare Doris as chief operating officer to support its growth plans.

Doris, who also trained at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is a life sciences entrepreneur with a track record in building and managing companies in the sector.

Following positions in global clinical research organisations Aptuit and Quintiles, she joined University of Edinburgh spin-out Aquila BioMedical as chief operating officer in 2011, where she led the company from its start-up phase through to acquisition by Concept Life Sciences (CLS) in 2017.

She was then instrumental in the company integration and broader CLS services strategy in her vice-president role.

Clare Doris and Clare Wareing of Cumulus Oncology, which is based in Edinburgh. Picture: Stewart Attwood

Clare Wareing, chief executive and co-founder of Cumulus Oncology said: “In her role at Aquila, Clare was instrumental in transforming the company from a start-up to a successful specialist service provider, while leading collaborations supporting value creation and fundraising efforts for a range of biotech companies.

“This kind of experience is a great fit for where we are at on the Cumulus journey, with our own plans to scale the business over the next few years.”

Edinburgh-headquartered Cumulus was founded in 2017 to create spin-out companies around novel anti-cancer therapies that are fast-tracked through development and target cancers that do not respond well to existing treatments. It secured a £1.7 million investment round led by Eos Advisory last July and in September founded its first spin-out, Modulus Oncology, alongside the University of Sheffield.

Cumulus grew its headcount to 20 last year, when the company also appointed a high profile advisory board – with Mohamed (Raz) Dewji, Chris Brinsmead, Ian Waddell and Nicola Broughton now supporting further asset acquisitions and future investment strategies.

Doris added: “Cumulus is one of the most exciting companies in the sector. The fresh approach taken by Cumulus as it creates biotech companies around novel oncology assets builds value for all stakeholders and accelerates new therapies for patients.

“Clare has built a world-class team, and as the company continues to scale, I look forward to using my industry, management and experience of building new companies to support the company through its next phase of growth.”

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