Yumanity Therapeutics (NASDAQ: YMTX), a biopharmaceutical company
focused on the development of innovative, disease-modifying
therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, today announced the
appointment of Ajay Verma, M.D., Ph.D., as Executive Vice
President, Head of Research & Development. Dr. Verma brings
more than 25 years of experience developing biotherapeutics in the
field of neuroscience.
“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Ajay Verma in the newly-created
role of Head of R&D at Yumanity Therapeutics,” said Richard
Peters, M.D., Ph.D., President, Chief Executive Officer and
Director of Yumanity Therapeutics. “As a clinically trained
neurologist, Ajay brings world-class expertise in neurology and
neurodegenerative diseases. His appointment will help accelerate
the drug development path of our core programs from bench to
bedside, as we pursue our goal of delivering one new program to the
clinic every year. Additionally, his expertise in translational
medicine will also allow us to continue our innovative approach to
drug discovery by examining novel and creative ways to develop
drugs to treat neurodegeneration.”
Dr. Ajay Verma is a seasoned executive with a productive career
spanning biopharma, academia and government. He was most recently
the Executive Vice President of Research and Experimental Medicine
at Codiak Biosciences where he advanced the company’s novel
precision exosome platform. Before this role, he was Chief Medical
Officer at United Neuroscience focusing on vaccines for
neurological disorders. Prior to that, Dr. Verma was the Vice
President of Neurology Drug Discovery and Development at Biogen,
where he helped drive neurology therapeutic programs and novel
imaging and biomarker strategies. Prior to Biogen, Dr. Verma held
leadership positions at Merck & Co. and Novartis
Pharmaceuticals and was a U.S. Army Lt. Colonel and Professor of
Neurology at the U.S. military’s medical school, the Uniformed
Services University of the Health Sciences. He was also a staff
neurologist at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Dr. Verma
received his M.D. and Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins University.
“I am very impressed with the amount of progress the Company has
made in identifying novel, unbiased targets for neurodegenerative
disease drug development and in advancing the first pipeline asset
into clinical development,” said Dr. Verma. “As a member of the
Yumanity executive team, I am honored to help build on this
momentum as we approach a number of significant upcoming milestones
in our YTX-7739 clinical development program in patients with
Parkinson’s disease. It is also thrilling to see the second
program, YTX-9184, which is expected to advance to the clinic for
the treatment of dementia with Lewy bodies later this year. It is a
great opportunity to be joining the accomplished team at Yumanity
and I look forward to making an impactful contribution as we
continue to execute and accelerate our pipeline for the treatment
of neurodegenerative diseases.”
Inducement Equity AwardsIn connection with Dr.
Verma’s acceptance of employment with the company, effective on the
first day of Dr. Verma’s employment, Dr. Verma will be granted (i)
an option to purchase 84,000 shares of common stock which will vest
over four years, with 25 percent of the shares vesting on the first
anniversary of Dr. Verma’s new hire date and the remainder vesting
in equal monthly installments over the following three years, and
(ii) an option to purchase 20,000 shares of common stock which will
vest upon the company’s achievement of certain research and
development milestones. Each of the options will have an exercise
price equal to the closing price of the Yumanity Therapeutic’s
common stock on the grant date and will have a ten year term and be
subject to the terms and conditions of the stock option agreements
pursuant to which the options will be granted.
These equity awards will be granted without stockholder approval
as inducements material to Dr. Verma’s entering into employment
with Yumanity in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule
5635(c)(4).
About YTX-7739YTX-7739 is Yumanity
Therapeutics’ proprietary lead small molecule investigational
therapy designed to penetrate the blood-brain barrier and inhibit
the activity of a novel target, stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD). SCD
appears to play an important and previously unrecognized role in
mitigating neurotoxicity arising from the effects of pathogenic
alpha-synuclein protein aggregation and accumulation, which
ultimately results in the death of neurons and the subsequent
dysregulation of movement and cognition that afflicts patients
living with these diseases. Through inhibition of SCD, YTX-7739
modulates an upstream process in the alpha-synuclein pathological
cascade and has been shown to rescue or prevent toxicity in
cellular and preclinical models. The company is assessing the
potential utility of YTX-7739 as a disease modifying therapy for
Parkinson’s disease.
About SCDSCD is an enzyme that catalyzes fatty
acid desaturation, the products of which are incorporated into
phospholipids, triglycerides, or cholesterol esters. These
lipid-related molecules regulate multiple diverse cellular
properties and processes, including membrane structure and
function, vesicle trafficking, intracellular signaling and
inflammation. SCD expression is regulated by a transcription factor
known as SREBF1, which has been identified in human genome-wide
association studies as a risk factor for Parkinson’s disease. In
preclinical models, SCD inhibition appears to normalize the dynamic
interaction of pathological alpha-synuclein with membranes, which
improves neuronal function and reduces toxicity, leading to
enhanced neuronal survival. Alpha-synuclein-dependent disruption of
membrane-related biological pathways, such as vesicle trafficking,
is closely linked to the formation of Lewy body protein/membrane
aggregations, a hallmark pathological feature of Parkinson’s
disease.
About Yumanity TherapeuticsYumanity
Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company
dedicated to accelerating the revolution in the treatment of
neurodegenerative diseases through its scientific foundation and
drug discovery platform. The Company’s most advanced product
candidate, YTX-7739, is currently in Phase 1 clinical development
for Parkinson’s disease. Yumanity’s drug discovery platform is
designed to enable the Company to rapidly screen for potential
disease-modifying therapies by overcoming toxicity of misfolded
proteins in neurogenerative diseases. Yumanity’s pipeline consists
of additional programs focused on Lewy body dementia, multi-system
atrophy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s
disease), frontotemporal lobar dementia (FTLD), and Alzheimer’s
disease. For more information, please visit www.yumanity.com.
Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release
contains forward-looking statements, including statements made
pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified
by words and phrases such as “aims,” “anticipates,” “believes,”
“could,” “designed to,” “estimates,” “expects,” “forecasts,”
“goal,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “possible,” “potential,”
“seeks,” “will,” and variations of these words and phrases or
similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements include, without
limitation, statements regarding the potential therapeutic benefits
of our prospective product candidates and results of preclinical
studies, including YTX-7739, and the design, commencement,
enrollment, and timing of ongoing or planned clinical trials,
clinical trial results, product approvals and regulatory pathways,
and the anticipated benefits of our drug discovery platform. Any
such statements in this press release that are not statements of
historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements.
Results in preclinical or early-stage clinical trials may not be
indicative of results from later stage or larger scale clinical
trials and do not ensure regulatory approval. You should not place
undue reliance on these statements, or the scientific data
presented.
Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based
on Yumanity Therapeutics’ current expectations, estimates and
projections about our industry as well as management’s current
beliefs and expectations of future events only as of today and are
subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set
forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks
and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk that
any one or more of our product candidates will not be successfully
developed or commercialized, the risk of cessation or delay of any
ongoing or planned clinical trials of Yumanity Therapeutics or our
collaborators, the risk that Yumanity Therapeutics may not
successfully recruit or enroll a sufficient number of patients for
our clinical trials, the risk that Yumanity Therapeutics may not
realize the intended benefits of its drug discovery platform, the
risk that our product candidates will not have the safety or
efficacy profile that we anticipate, the risk that prior results,
such as signals of safety, activity or durability of effect,
observed from preclinical or clinical trials, will not be
replicated or will not continue in ongoing or future studies or
trials involving Yumanity Therapeutics’ product candidates, the
risk that we will be unable to obtain and maintain regulatory
approval for our product candidates, the risk that the size and
growth potential of the market for our product candidates will not
materialize as expected, risks associated with our dependence on
third-party suppliers and manufacturers, risks regarding the
accuracy of our estimates of expenses and future revenue, risks
relating to our capital requirements and needs for additional
financing, risks relating to clinical trial and business
interruptions resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak or similar
public health crises, including that such interruptions may
materially delay our enrollment and development timelines and/or
increase our development costs or that data collection efforts may
be impaired or otherwise impacted by such crises, and risks
relating to our ability to obtain and maintain intellectual
property protection for our product candidates. For a discussion of
these and other risks and uncertainties, and other important
factors, any of which could cause Yumanity Therapeutics’ actual
results to differ materially and adversely from those contained in
the forward-looking statements, see the section entitled “Risk
Factors” in Yumanity Therapeutics’ most recent Annual or Quarterly
Report, and other important factors in Yumanity Therapeutics’
subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Yumanity Therapeutics explicitly disclaims any
obligation to update any forward-looking statements except to the
extent required by law.
Investors:Burns McClellan, Inc.John
Grimaldijgrimaldi@burnsmc.com(212) 213-0006
Media:Burns McClellan, Inc.Ryo Imai / Robert
Flamm, Ph.D.rimai@burnsmc.com / rflamm@burnsmc.com(212)
213-0006
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