Eric Murphy, Ph.D.

Eric Murphy, Ph.D., co-founded Sidewinder Therapeutics and serves as Chief Executive Officer and Director. Dr. Murphy is a 20+ year veteran of oncology drug discovery and development with a personal mission to help reshape the cancer treatment landscape. As a serial life science entrepreneur, he has also co-founded Alterome Therapeutics, Kinnate Biopharma (Nasdaq: KNTE), and Fount Therapeutics. Dr. Murphy served as Chief Executive Officer and/or Chief Scientific Officer and led each organization from company formation through early clinical trials. His recent focus on next generation mutation and isoform selective inhibitors at Alterome earned Eric the prestigious Goldman Sachs’ 2024 Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Prior to his entrepreneurial journey, Dr. Murphy was Global Head of Oncology R&D and External Innovation at Crown Bioscience (acquired by JSR Life Sciences) and held research leadership roles of increasing responsibility at The Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (Novartis – GNF) and the Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego. He was fortunate to work with incredibly talented teams and contribute to multiple clinical stage and approved oncology drugs during his roles at Novartis, Kinnate, and Alterome. Dr. Murphy completed his postdoctoral training at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) with David Cheresh, Ph.D. and earned a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from UC Irvine and a B.S. in Biochemistry from UC Davis.

Eric enjoys advocating for cancer patients, mentoring both early biotech founders and career scientists, and training in the gym and on the trails of San Diego.