Tolerx was cofounded and incorporated in July 2000 by Professor Herman Waldmann of the University of Oxford, and Douglas J. Ringler, VMD.

Professor Waldmann and Dr. Ringler first worked together at LeukoSite, Inc., a biotechnology company, where Professor Waldmann was a member of the Scientific Advisory Board and Dr. Ringler was Vice President of Preclinical Development, Manufacturing, and Laboratory Operations. While at LeukoSite, Dr. Ringler led the development of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies generated in Professor Waldmann's laboratory, including CAMPATH (alemtuzumab), MLN01 (previously LDP-01), and MLN0002 (previously LDP-02), and prepared a key section of the CAMPATH biologics license application (BLA).

As Head of the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology at the University of Oxford, Professor Waldmann had been conducting basic research into the mechanisms of immune tolerance and how these mechanisms could be harnessed — using monoclonal antibodies and other modern biotherapeutics — to develop treatments for immune-related diseases. When Dr. Ringler left LeukoSite, he and Professor Waldmann started discussing the possibility of creating a new and unique biopharmaceutical company focused specifically on these mechanisms and treatments. The result was Tolerx.

Tolerx raised seed financing and began operations in December 2000, with several antibodies generated by Professor Waldmann and exclusively licensed from Cambridge University and the University of Oxford. In the years since, we've grown to a company of 70+ employees, advanced two compounds into clinical trials, and moved three others into preclinical testing, and have completed enrollment in DEFEND, our first Phase 3 clinical trial.

We're excited by how far we've come — and look forward to continued progress.