Key Investor Signals
Co-founder built and exited a life-sciences intelligence firm
CEO Edward Cartwright co-founded Cambridge Healthcare Research, a pharmaceutical competitive-intelligence business acquired by GlobalData in 2026.
Advanced an LGR5 antibody through preclinical work
Cambridge researchers demonstrated LGR5-directed cancer-cell killing and activity in a mouse model of human leukemia, establishing the antibody foundation for further development.
Joined Cambridge’s START 3.0 venture cohort
Founders at the University of Cambridge selected AdcoTx for START 3.0, supporting translation of its colorectal cancer program into a single-asset biotechnology venture.
Other Positive Signals
- Built on Cambridge research in colorectal cancer signalling and tumour immunology.
- Selected for Cambridge investor days in New York and San Francisco in September 2026.
Team
Edward Cartwright
CEO and Co-founder
- Co-founded Cambridge Healthcare Research, the life-sciences competitive-intelligence business acquired by GlobalData in 2026.
- Co-founded CHR in 2013 and helped scale it into an international consultancy serving pharmaceutical, medtech and consumer-health clients.
- Helped build a pharmaceutical strategy business that won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2020.
Marc de la Roche
CSO and Co-founder
- Leads a Cambridge biochemistry research group studying cancer-driving signalling and colorectal tumour biology.
- Co-authored the 2024 EMBO Molecular Medicine paper developing LGR5-directed antibodies for cancer treatment.
- Uses intestinal organoids to study cancer-associated mutations and test ways to control abnormal tissue growth.
Maike de la Roche
Scientific Co-founder
- Leads a Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute group investigating immune-cell signalling and cancer immunotherapy.
- Co-authored the LGR5 antibody study spanning antibody-drug conjugates and immune-cell-directed treatment formats.
- Won the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute’s Entrepreneurial Group Leader of the Year recognition in 2024.
Product
The lead program is an antibody-drug conjugate targeting LGR5, a protein linked to tumour growth. AdcoTx is advancing one asset through preclinical development, combining a targeting antibody with a linked drug payload for colorectal cancer.
Recognizing a tumour protein
The antibody binds LGR5 on the surface of cancer cells. The underlying Cambridge research tested specificity against related proteins and showed activity in LGR5-expressing colorectal cancer cells.
Delivering a cell-killing drug
An antibody-drug conjugate couples the targeting antibody to a potent payload through a linker. AdcoTx is developing this combination to concentrate drug delivery on cells that carry its chosen target.
Advancing one colorectal cancer asset
AdcoTx uses a single-asset development model focused on colorectal cancer. The lead remains preclinical; the Cambridge portfolio describes animal proof of principle and a strategy to advance toward an initial human study.
Market Overview
Colorectal cancer care combines surgery, chemotherapy and molecularly selected treatments, depending on disease extent and tumour biology. Outcomes deteriorate sharply once disease spreads to distant organs. This leaves a sustained need for new drugs that address resistant disease and expand treatment options.
The commercial opportunity spans a large and persistent treatment population. Around 1.9 million people developed colorectal cancer worldwide in 2022, while 1.48 million were living with the disease in the US in 2023. About 23% of US cases were diagnosed after distant spread, where five-year survival was 16.9%.
An estimated 1.9 million people developed colorectal cancer worldwide in 2022.
US five-year relative survival for colorectal cancer diagnosed at a distant stage, 2016–2022.
About 23% of US colorectal cancers were diagnosed after distant spread in the 2016–2022 data.
An estimated 1,478,528 people were living with colorectal cancer in the United States in 2023.
Comparable Outcomes
ImmunoGen
Developed antibody-drug conjugates for cancer, including ELAHERE, a targeted treatment for selected patients with ovarian cancer. AbbVie completed its all-cash acquisition of ImmunoGen in February 2024, at an equity value of approximately $10.1 billion.
Mablink Bioscience
Developed antibody-drug conjugates for cancer using a hydrophilic linker technology to connect targeting antibodies and drug payloads. Eli Lilly completed its acquisition of Mablink on 1 December 2023, adding its preclinical cancer-drug platform.
Interested in More Startups Like AdcoTx?
Get a curated pipeline of healthcare and life sciences startups aligned with your investment thesis.
Sources
This profile was built from public company materials, ecosystem sources, market references, and professional profiles.