About Unleash Therapeutics
ORIGIN STORY
It began with one dog’s fight against cancer.
In 2020, our co-founder and CEO, Dr. Elizabeth Iorns, faced devastating news: her beloved French Bulldog, Lily, had been diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor.
A cancer biologist and entrepreneur, Elizabeth understood the options available for human cancer patients, and was struck by the striking lack of comparable treatments for dogs. Despite major breakthroughs in human oncology, canine cancer therapies lagged decades behind.
As Lily underwent treatment, Elizabeth saw firsthand the limits of what veterinary oncology could offer. That experience, both personal and scientific, revealed a fundamental gap.
From that experience, Unleash Therapeutics was born.
Together with long-time collaborator Dan Knox, Elizabeth set out to bridge the gap between human and veterinary medicine by bringing proven oncology innovations to canine patients. The goal was simple but profound: to give people in Elizabeth’s shoes more options, and more hope, when their dog is diagnosed with cancer.
MISSION
Cancer shouldn’t be a death sentence for dogs.
Each year, more than 6 million dogs in the U.S. are diagnosed with cancer—four times the number of human cases. Yet, despite decades of progress in human oncology, there are only three FDA-approved drugs for canine cancer.
With Unleash Therapeutics, we want to change that. We're turning human oncology innovations into life-saving cancer treatments for dogs.
Our mission is to transform canine cancer care by developing effective, accessible therapeutics that extend and improve the lives of dogs with cancer.
LEADERSHIP
Unleash Therapeutics was founded by Dr. Elizabeth Iorns and Dan Knox, long-time collaborators with a shared vision to transform how science serves the world, and how it serves our dogs.
Elizabeth is a cancer biologist and entrepreneur; Dan is a technology and operations leader. Together they spent more than a decade building Science Exchange, a global platform that redefined how research is done.
When Elizabeth’s French Bulldog, Lily, was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor, their focus shifted from enabling research to directly saving lives. That experience revealed a profound gap in canine oncology and inspired the creation of Unleash Therapeutics.
Their partnership blends scientific rigor, entrepreneurial execution, and deep compassion, a combination driving Unleash’s mission to ensure that dogs with cancer have access to the same level of innovation that humans do.