Copenhagen does not posture. It produces. In 2017, inside the labs of Rigshospitalet and the University of Copenhagen, Niels Behrendt, Lars Henning Engelholm, and Christoffer Nielsen were deep in receptor biology, studying uPARAP with the patience of scientists who understand that real leverage in oncology starts at the cellular level. Alongside biotech operator Henrik Stage, they transformed that research into Adcendo ApS, built on a simple but ruthless thesis: if you can target the right receptor with precision and deliver a lethal payload directly into cancer cells, you change outcomes without burning the whole system down.
Leadership followed scale. Michael Pehl stepped in as CEO, bringing operating scar tissue from Immunomedics, Celgene, and Amgen. Henrik Stage transitioned into the CFO role, anchoring the financial architecture. Carmel M. Lynch, PhD, as CDO, and Pernille Høyrup Hemmingsen, PhD, as CTO, engineered the path from discovery to clinic. Dennis Benjamin, PhD, chairs the Scientific Advisory Board, pressure-testing every development inflection point. This is a team assembled for execution, not optics.
The pipeline is focused and intentional. ADCE D01 targets uPARAP and has cleared the FDA for a Phase 1/2 study in metastatic or unresectable soft tissue sarcoma. ADCE T02, a tissue factor-directed ADC licensed from Multitude Therapeutics with rights outside Greater China, expands the company’s shot profile into additional high-need solid tumors. Two programs, each grounded in differentiated biology, each designed to widen the therapeutic window where conventional approaches stall.
Capital markets responded with conviction. In 2021, Adcendo raised approximately $60M in a Series A backed by Novo Holdings, RA Capital Management, HealthCap, Ysios Capital, Gilde Healthcare, and BioInnovation Institute. In 2024, the company secured a $135M Series B led by TCGX, with participation from TPG Life Sciences Innovations, OrbiMed Advisors, Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, Surveyor Capital, Logos Capital, and returning investors including RA Capital and Novo Holdings. More than $200M raised to date. In a tight funding cycle, that qualifies as real startup news, not speculative noise.
The board, chaired by Laura Shawver, PhD, includes leaders from TCGX, TPG Capital, RA Capital, Novo Holdings, Pontifax, Dawn Biopharma, Eikon Therapeutics, and OrbiMed. Governance is seasoned. Capital is institutional. The science is differentiated.
Adcendo is not trying to be everything in oncology. It is building a concentrated ADC platform from Denmark with global ambition and disciplined capital. In a market flooded with incrementalism, that focus stands out. Watch the clinical readouts. Watch the capital strategy. This is the kind of company that turns regional science into international startup news without ever raising its voice.
