LAUSANNE, Switzerland and CAMBRIDGE, MA., December 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
Appoints CNS specialist
and establishes US presence with new office
in Cambridge,
MA
Asceneuron, an emerging leader in the development of innovative
small molecules for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases,
announced today the appointment of Thomas
C. Wessel, MD, PhD, as Chief Medical Officer. Tom has over
20 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry and will
be responsible for progressing the development of Asceneuron's lead
program ASN120290 and a pipeline of novel small molecules through
the clinic. Tom will be based at Asceneuron's new offices in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he
will lead all regulatory and clinical development activities as
part of the company's further expansion in the United States.
Tom joins Asceneuron from Boston-based Flex Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLKS),
where he was Chief Medical Officer. Tom is a board-certified
neurologist with extensive drug development experience, including
being the medical lead for three CNS products approved in
the United States: Razadyne®,
Lunesta® and Ampyra®. Prior to Flex Pharma, Tom was the Chief
Medical Officer at Acorda Therapeutics, Senior Vice President of
Clinical Research at Sepracor, and worked on several CNS projects
at Janssen Pharmaceutica in Europe
and the United States. Tom
received his MD from the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in
Munich and his PhD in experimental
neurobiology at the Max-Planck-Institute for Psychiatry in
Martinsried, Germany. He completed
his residency in neurology at New York Hospital and Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (Cornell
University Medical Center) where he remained on the faculty
for several years as an Instructor and Assistant Professor before
joining the industry.
Dirk Beher, Chief Executive
Officer and Founder of Asceneuron, commented:
"Our tau approach has the potential to revolutionize the
treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and we are very happy to
add Tom with his high caliber experience to our team. His expertise
and outstanding track record in CNS drug development will help
Asceneuron progress its orally-bioavailable tau modifiers through
clinical development in Europe,
Canada and the United States. We very much look forward
to working with Tom to address the high unmet medical need in
tau-related dementias and related diseases."
Tom Wessel, newly appointed Chief Medical
Officer of Asceneuron, added:
"Asceneuron is a leader in the development of therapies focusing
on the tau protein and is at a very promising stage of growth. The
team at Asceneuron has recently generated very compelling data
which promise to lead to novel treatments for CNS diseases
involving tau pathologies including progressive supranuclear palsy,
frontotemporal dementias, and Alzheimer's disease. I am delighted
to be working with a highly experienced team and a strong board at
Asceneuron as we bring our first-in-class small-molecule
therapeutics to patients."
Asceneuron announced last month it had commenced a new clinical
trial of its lead program, ASN120290. The study aims to quantify
target engagement of ASN120290 in the human brain using positron
emission tomography (PET) to help guide dose selection for a
planned clinical efficacy trial in progressive supranuclear palsy
(PSP), a rapidly progressing rare neurodegenerative disorder.
ASN120290 has the potential to become a first-in-class treatment
for PSP, and other tau-related dementias.
About Asceneuron
Asceneuron is an emerging, clinical stage biotech company
excelling in the development of orally bioavailable therapeutics
for debilitating neurodegenerative disorders with high unmet
medical need, such as orphan tauopathies, Alzheimer's and
Parkinson's diseases. The lead program ASN120290, an O-GlcNAcase
inhibitor, is being developed for the orphan tauopathy progressive
supranuclear palsy (PSP). Asceneuron has completed a randomized,
double-blind, placebo-controlled phase I study to assess the safety
and tolerability of single and multiple doses of orally
administered ASN120290. Asceneuron is a privately held company
financed by a strong syndicate of investors consisting of Sofinnova
Partners, M Ventures, SR One, Johnson & Johnson Innovation -
JJDC, Inc. (JJDC) and Kurma Partners. For more information, please
visit www.asceneuron.com.
About ASN120290
Asceneuron's lead program ASN120290, an O-GlcNAcase inhibitor,
is being developed for the orphan tauopathy progressive
supranuclear palsy (PSP) and was recently granted Orphan Drug
Designation by the US FDA for the treatment of PSP. ASN120290 has
recently completed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled
phase I study to assess its safety and tolerability of single and
multiple doses in healthy young and elderly volunteers. Data from
that study were presented at the Alzheimer's Association
International Conference (AAIC) in Chicago July 22-26,
2018.
About Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP)
PSP, also known as Steele-Richardson-Olszewski syndrome, is a
rapidly progressing neurodegenerative disorder. PSP is often
misdiagnosed because it is relatively rare and certain symptoms are
similar to Parkinson's disease. However, PSP is much more common
than previously believed. Its prevalence is about three to six
people per 100,000 individuals. Symptoms generally appear in the
60s-70s but can affect people from the age of 40 onwards. There are
currently no treatments available to cure this disease.
SOURCE Asceneuron SA