Nuage Therapeutics appoints new leadership to advance oncogenic transcription factor therapies
Barcelona-based Nuage Therapeutics has announced key leadership appointments with Dr. Stuart Hughes joining as CEO and Vanessa Malier as Chair, as the company advances its platform for targeting previously undruggable oncogenic transcription factors through novel technology addressing intrinsically disordered proteins.
Innovative approach to “undruggable” targets
Nuage Therapeutics, a spin-off from the IRB Barcelona and ICREA, has developed proprietary technology that reconstitutes intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) into secondary-structured forms amenable to small molecule drug discovery. This technological advancement addresses a significant challenge in pharmaceutical development, as IDPs have historically been considered “undruggable” despite their biological significance in disease pathways.
The company’s initial focus targets oncogenic transcription factors, which regulate gene expression and are frequently dysregulated in cancer. By stabilising these typically disordered proteins into druggable conformations, Nuage aims to develop precision therapies for cancers with limited treatment options.
Leadership transition brings extensive industry experience
Dr. Stuart Hughes brings significant experience in both early-stage biotech development and established pharmaceutical settings. Prior to joining Nuage, Dr. Hughes served as CEO of Pathios Therapeutics, where he guided the immuno-oncology company from seed investment to clinical stage, securing a €25 million Series B funding round that included Bristol Myers Squibb as a strategic investor.
His previous roles include Senior Director at Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Principal Research Scientist at Eli Lilly, with expertise spanning multiple therapeutic areas. Dr. Hughes holds an MSc in Electrical & Electronic Engineering and a PhD in Neuroscience from Cardiff University.
Regarding his appointment, Dr. Hughes stated: “Nuage possesses a highly differentiated suite of technologies that enables the capture of ‘disordered’ proteins in a form that is amenable to small molecule screening and profiling. I believe Nuage represents a game-changing advance in drug discovery and precision medicine, especially where targets have previously been considered undruggable.”
Strategic governance enhancement
Vanessa Malier joins as Chair with extensive experience in biotech investment and pharmaceutical strategy. Her background includes ten years as Managing Partner at Kurma Partners and a decade at Ipsen in various strategic roles, including Chief of Staff to the CEO.
Growing Barcelona biotech ecosystem
The appointments come at a pivotal time for the company, which was founded by researchers Prof. Xavier Salvatella, Prof. Denes Hnisz and Dr. Mateusz Biesaga. Clara Campàs, Managing Partner at Asabys Partners, noted: “Nuage is located within the thriving, rapidly growing biotech and pharma ecosystem in Barcelona and we believe it has all of the ingredients to deliver on its immense promise.”
The company is backed by Sofinnova
Partners, Asabys Partners, and Innvierte (CDTI’s investment programme), and aims to develop both internal pipelineprogrammes and strategic partnerships targeting transcription factors and related high-value targets across multiple disease areas.
Stuart Hughes, Vanessa Malier
