John McCafferty, PhD

Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge and CEO at Maxion Therapeutics

John McCafferty was a co-inventor of antibody phage display and one of the founders of Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT) which was acquired by Astra Zeneca in 2006. In 2012 he formed IONTAS, an innovative biotechnology company using phage display to develop novel antibody therapeutics. During this period John developed IONTAS’s proprietary mammalian display technology.

John is also an inventor of a novel molecular fusion format (KnotBodyTM) wherein naturally occurring, venom-derived cysteine-rich peptides are inserted into peripheral CDR loops of an antibody. He recently formed Maxion Therapeutics to take advantage of this drug development opportunity with a particular focus on modulation of ion channels and GPCRs.

In spring 2022 John returned to academia at the Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge to develop recombinant antivenoms for sub-Saharan Africa