Lift Therapeutics Names Daniel Passeri as CEO

Lift Therapeutics, a biotechnology company pioneering a new class of immunotherapy for hard-to-treat cancers, has appointed Daniel Passeri as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Passeri brings over 30 years of experience in oncology and immunotherapy drug development, most recently serving as CEO of Cue Biopharma, where he led the company from inception into clinical development.

Passeri’s appointment comes at a critical juncture for Lift Therapeutics, as the company prepares to advance its lead immuno-Modulatory Alpha Neutrophil (iMAN) program into first-in-human studies in early 2027.

Bo Rode Hansen, PhD, who has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2023, will resume his role as a member of the Board of Directors and assume the role of President. Hansen will continue to leverage his deep corporate strategy and drug development experience to support the company's clinical development progress.

Passeri’s extensive background includes a 15-year tenure at Curis, Inc., where he held various executive roles, including President, Vice Chairman of the Board, and Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Planning. From 2017 to 2025, he served as CEO and a member of the Board of Directors of Cue Biopharma, where he successfully helped build functional teams to guide the company through discovery, preclinical, and clinical development stages of corporate development for multiple immunotherapy programs and established collaborations with Merck, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Ono Pharmaceuticals.

Lift Therapeutics is focused on developing a new class of immunotherapy based on allogeneic immuno-Modulatory Alpha Neutrophils (iMANs)®. The company’s proprietary, long-lived iMANs harness N1 neutrophils’ innate tumour-homing and infiltrating attributes, combined with their ability to directly kill cancer cells and orchestrate broader immune responses, offering a powerful treatment option to potentially overcome cancer resistance mechanisms, such as a suppressive tumour environment and immune evasion.

The company’s platform represents a novel opportunity to reshape the standard of care for cancer patients, with the potential to address some of the most challenging solid tumours.

With Passeri and Rode Hansen at the helm, Lift Therapeutics is poised to advance its innovative iMAN program into the clinic, aiming to establish iMANs as a new standard of care for treating cancer.