C-Further announces formation of Scientific Advisory Board

London, UK – 28 May 2025 – C-Further, an international consortium of researchers in drug discovery and development, clinicians, partners and impact investors with a shared commitment to creating new cancer therapeutics for children and young people, today announced the formation of a Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Alison Maloney, Head of Biology at Dark Blue Therapeutics, has been appointed chair of the inaugural SAB. The SAB will advise on areas of overall strategy for the consortium and provide independent scientific review for new and active consortium projects.  

Collectively, this expert group has driven the discovery, development, and clinical translation of dozens of cancer therapeutics—many in paediatric oncology—including the most recent FDA-approved drug OJEMDA™ (tovorafenib). They have redefined standards of care through landmark trials and bring deep, hands-on expertise across a range of modalities, from CAR-T and immunotoxins to small molecules and enzyme therapies. They help shape global research and regulatory agendas through leadership roles in some of the most influential academic, governmental, and industry institutions worldwide.  

I am honoured to chair this distinguished group of leaders and although the challenge ahead of us is great, I know that by working together with the experts assembled by C-Further, we have the necessary skills to address the systemic barriers and transform the treatment landscape for children and young people with cancer.

— Alison Maloney, Chair of the SAB

C-Further welcomes the following leaders to its SAB: 

• Alison Maloney (Chair): Alison is Head of Biology at Dark Blue Therapeutics and has more than 20 years of drug discovery experience working in both academia and industry. Prior to Dark Blue Therapeutics she was Head of Translational Science at the Francis Crick Institute in London where she led the translation of discovery science spanning therapeutics and technologies across multiple therapeutic areas. Before that she worked for 15 years at UCB on the discovery of novel chemical and biological molecules within the oncology and immunology therapeutic areas. She also led a Translational Science research group focused on target validation, understanding mechanism of action and biomarker discovery. She received her PhD from the Institute of Cancer Research, working in the Cancer Therapeutics division. She has previously sat on research funding panels including the MRC Experimental Medicine panel and the MRC Molecular and Cellular Medicine Board (MCMB). 

• Andy Pearson: Andy led the first paediatric phase I study in the UK and has been involved in the pre-clinical and early clinical development of many anti-cancer agents in children. He was the chief investigator of both the clinical trial ENSG 5, which changed the standard practice for the therapy of high-risk neuroblastoma in Europe, and the BEACON Trial, the first randomised European study for refractory or relapsed neuroblastoma. In addition, Andy is currently a leading member of a host of cancer research institutions. This includes chair of the United Kingdom Children Cancer Study Group, founding chair of the International Society of Paediatric Oncology Europe Neuroblastoma Group, and chair of ACCELERATE, European Medicines Agency, and the US Food and Drug Administration’s Paediatric Strategy Forum Oversight Committee, among many others. Prior to 2005, Andy was professor of paediatric oncology and Dean of postgraduate studies at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, where he also was trained. He later became a Professor of Paediatric Oncology at the Institute of Cancer Research, as well as the honorary consultant and Divisional Medical Director at the Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust. There, he led a comprehensive paediatric drug development programme with one of the largest portfolios of early phase, first in child, biomarker rich studies in Europe on neuroblastoma. He was awarded a lifetime achievement award from Advances in Neuroblastoma Research in 2016.  

• Francis Mussai: Francis read Medicine at the University of Oxford graduating in 2004, followed by post-graduate training. In 2007, Francis was accepted onto the Johns Hopkins-National Institutes of Health Joint Fellowship Program in Pediatric Haematology/Oncology (USA). Whilst at the NIH, he began doctoral studies into anti-CD22 immunotoxins for childhood ALL under Dr. Ira Pastan, through the Wellcome Trust-NIH Joint Studentship. In 2010, Francis returned to the University of Oxford to complete his doctoral studies (Anya Sturdy Fellowship) in Professor Vincenzo Cerundolo’s laboratory, investigating the mechanisms by which Acute Myeloid Leukaemia blasts create an immunosuppressive niche. In 2012, Francis accepted tenure at the University of Birmingham, as Clinical Senior Lecturer in Paediatric Oncology, to lead a research group investigating the immunosuppressive microenvironment created by adult and paediatric solid and haematological malignancies. He was awarded a CRUK Clinician-Scientist Fellowship (2014-2020) and funding by a number of other national charities. The laboratory’s work identified how altered amino acid metabolism by tumour cells or myeloid cells can drive tumour progression and impair immunity, including CAR-T therapy. Over 10 years the research findings directly translated into five international phase II clinical trials in children and adults – ranging from therapeutic recombinant enzyme to immunotoxin approaches. The laboratory also provided translational research alongside five adult Phase I/II international clinical trials in solid and haematological cancers. In 2022 Francis joined the paediatric oncology (IPODD) team at Roche-Genentech as Lead Medical Director, working at the interface between paediatric oncology focused translational science and early-/late-stage clinical trials. Francis continues to see patients in clinic at Birmingham Children’s Hospital and act as a trustee of children’s cancer charities. 

• Sarah Skerratt: Sarah is a drug discovery leader, with more than 20 years of experience in the pharma & biotech industry. Sarah has held senior positions at Pfizer, Vertex and Merck and has led multi-disciplinary teams that have delivered numerous clinical candidates across a range of therapeutic areas. Sarah is currently Chief Scientific Officer at CHARM Therapeutics, a company whose vision is to deliver transformational medicines through 3D deep learning and cutting-edge drug discovery technologies. Sarah is an organic chemist by training, conducting her Ph.D. with Professor J C Anderson at the University of Nottingham before undertaking postdoctoral studies with Professor P A Wender at Stanford University as a visiting Fulbright Scholar. 

• Samuel C. Blackman: Samuel is a physician-scientist, paediatric oncologist and neuro-oncologist, and experienced cancer drug developer and biopharmaceutical executive, who has been involved in the early-stage clinical development of numerous cancer therapeutics over the past 17 years. He is currently Entrepreneur in Residence at Google Ventures. Prior to this role, he was the co-founder and former Head of Research and Development of Day One Biopharmaceuticals where he led the acquisition and development of OJEMDA™ (tovorafenib) through FDA approval and commercialization. Prior to founding Day One in 2018, Dr. Blackman held positions of increasing responsibility in large pharmaceutical companies (Merck, GlaxoSmithKline) and biotechnology companies (Seattle Genetics, Juno Therapeutics, Silverback Therapeutics, Mavupharma). He is also a member of the board of directors of Presage Biosciences and Bonum Therapeutics. Sam is a graduate of the Paediatric Haematology/Oncology fellowship program at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Children’s Hospital Boston, and the Pediatric residency program at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Dr. Blackman received his B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Chicago, and his M.D. and Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Illinois at Chicago. 

• Sarah K Tasian: Sarah is a paediatric oncologist and physician-scientist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and an Associate Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine who is interested in development of molecularly-targeted therapeutics for children with high-risk leukaemia. She specialises in the clinical care of children with leukaemia and lymphoma, is an internationally-recognized expert in paediatric ALL and AML biology and therapeutics, and serves as the Chief of the Hematologic Malignancies Program at CHOP, where she also hold the Joshua Kahan Endowed Chair in Pediatric Leukemia Research. Her NIH/NCI- and DoD-funded bench-to-bedside and bedside-back-to-bench translational laboratory research program focuses upon preclinical and early-phase clinical testing of small molecule inhibitors and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell immunotherapies in high-risk genetic subsets of childhood ALL and AML. Dr Tasian has leadership roles in the Children’s Oncology Group ALL, Myeloid Diseases (Vice Chair of Relapse), and Developmental Therapeutics (Vice Chair of Biology/Hematologic Malignancies) executive committees and is the Clinical Trials Leader for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society PedAL/EuPAL consortium.   

---ENDS---

Meet our leadership team