Christoph Zapf, Ph.D., joined Light Horse Therapeutics in May 2025 and currently serves as Vice President of Chemistry, spearheading our efforts in computational and medicinal chemistry, chemoproteomics, and protein sciences. He brings 20 years of drug discovery expertise to the team with leadership roles across biotech and pharmaceutical organizations, driving innovation at the intersection of chemistry and biology.
Before joining Light Horse, Christoph held a VP role in research at Bristol Myers Squibb, leading high-performing medicinal chemistry, proteomics, and structural biology teams across San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area. His tenure at BMS saw groundbreaking advances in targeted protein degradation, antibody-drug conjugates, and traditional small molecule inhibitor programs, successfully bringing multiple molecular glue and heterobifunctional assets into clinical development for oncology and non-oncology indications.
Prior to BMS, Christoph led the medicinal and computational chemistry department at Nurix Therapeutics. Under his leadership, his team identified first-in-class small molecule inhibitors targeting the E3 ligase Cbl-b and novel heterobifunctional BTK degraders—both now advancing through clinical trials.
Christoph’s launched his career at Wyeth and Pfizer, where he contributed to pioneering medicinal chemistry programs in virology, oncology, inflammation, immunology, and rare diseases. With a Ph.D. from UC San Diego and postdoctoral training at Princeton University, he has built a legacy of scientific excellence, driving therapeutic innovation across diverse disease areas and drug modalities.