Frequency Therapeutics Expands its Clinical Development Team, Adding Expertise in Inner Ear Physiology and Translational Scie...
April 13 2021 - 7:00AM
Business Wire
Company Announces Appointment of Jeffery
Lichtenhan, Ph.D., to Lead Efforts in Hearing Diagnostics and
Measurement; Joins Frequency from Washington University Medical
School in St. Louis
Frequency Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: FREQ), a clinical-stage
biotechnology company focused on harnessing the body’s innate
biology to repair or reverse damage caused by a broad range of
degenerative diseases, today announced the expansion of its
clinical development team with the addition of Jeffery T.
Lichtenhan, Ph.D., a leading expert in hearing diagnostics and
measurement.
Dr. Lichtenhan, an auditory neuroscientist, will help to advance
the Company’s hearing clinical development programs, including its
lead program, FX-322, which aims to regenerate sensory hair cells
to potentially restore hearing for individuals with sensorineural
hearing loss (SNHL). He joins Frequency from the Washington
University School of Medicine in St. Louis, where he was Assistant
Professor of Otolaryngology and Audiology and Communication
Sciences. Dr. Lichtenhan’s laboratory has aimed to develop novel,
clinically relevant measures of auditory dysfunction and he has
published more than 25 peer-reviewed studies on this topic.
At Frequency, Dr. Lichtenhan will develop strategies to turn
laboratory and clinical observations into new, increasingly
sensitive diagnostic methodologies to support development of new
therapeutics for acquired sensorineural hearing loss, the most
common form of hearing loss.
“We are excited to continue welcoming world-class experts to
Frequency and extending our field-leading expertise in hearing
science. Jeff’s focus on diagnostics and inner ear dysfunction will
support our advancement of the FX-322 hearing restoration program
into new clinical studies, and more broadly build upon our novel
regenerative medicine platform,” said David L. Lucchino,
Frequency’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
Dr. Lichtenhan’s appointment further broadens the Company’s
internal audiology and hearing science expertise, as Frequency
continues to build out its hearing research and development
efforts, while working to define specific patient populations where
its lead treatment candidate, FX-322, may have the greatest impact.
In February, Frequency announced the appointment of Kevin Franck,
Ph.D., who joined the Company as Senior Vice President of Strategic
Marketing and New Product Planning from Massachusetts Eye and Ear,
where he served as Director of Audiology and was on the Harvard
Medical School Faculty of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and
Neck Surgery.
“I am honored to join the team at Frequency and to have the
opportunity to align my research expertise with the Company’s focus
on restoring hearing function,” said Dr. Lichtenhan, who joins
Frequency in the role of Principal Scientist, Translational
Science. “I am thrilled to now build upon the decades of research
focused on cellular regeneration and hearing diagnostics and apply
it to the Company’s mission of transforming treatment for patients
with sensorineural hearing loss.”
Dr. Lichtenhan earned his B.S.G. in Speech-Language and Hearing
Science, his M.A. in Audiology and his Ph.D. in Speech-Language and
Hearing Science from the University of Kansas. He later completed a
postdoctoral fellowship in Auditory Physiology at Massachusetts Eye
and Ear/Harvard Medical School in the Eaton-Peabody Laboratories.
He holds editorial responsibilities at the Journal of the American
Academy of Audiology and the American Journal of Audiology. He is
also a board-certified audiologist.
About Frequency Therapeutics
Frequency Therapeutics is a leader in the development of
medicines designed to activate progenitor cells within the body to
treat degenerative diseases. The Company’s progenitor cell
activation (PCA) approach stimulates progenitor cells to create
functional tissue with the aim of developing disease modifying
therapies. The Company’s lead product candidate, FX-322, is
designed to regenerate auditory hair cells to restore hearing
function. FX-322 is being evaluated in multiple ongoing clinical
studies in patients with sensorineural hearing loss. The Company
also is evaluating additional diseases where its PCA approach could
create functional tissue, including in a pre-clinical program in
multiple sclerosis.
Headquartered in Lexington, Mass., Frequency has an ex-U.S.
license and collaboration agreement with Astellas Pharma Inc. for
FX-322, as well as additional collaboration and licensing
agreements with academic and nonprofit research organizations
including Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Mass General Brigham, the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, The Scripps Research
Institute and Cambridge Enterprises Limited. For more information,
visit www.frequencytx.com and follow Frequency on Twitter
@Frequencytx.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005341/en/
Suzanne Day Frequency Therapeutics sday@frequencytx.com
781-496-2211
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