TIDMPRTC
PureTech Health PLC
15 August 2018
15 August 2018
PureTech Health plc
PureTech's Karuna Appoints Steven Paul, MD, as Chief Executive
Officer
Former President of Lilly Research Laboratories and Co-founder
of Sage and Voyager brings decades of neuroscience and CNS drug
development experience
PureTech Health plc (LSE: PRTC) ("PureTech Health"), a
clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel medicines
for dysfunctions of the Brain-Immune-Gut (BIG), today announced the
appointment of Steven Paul, MD, as Chief Executive Officer of its
affiliate, Karuna Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Karuna"). Co-founder of
Karuna and former PureTech Health Vice President, Andrew Miller,
PhD, will assume the role of Chief Operating Officer at Karuna.
Dr Paul, who also serves as Chairman of the Karuna Board, brings
more than three decades of neuroscience and central nervous system
(CNS) drug development expertise to Karuna. Previously, he spent 17
years at Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY), in which he held
several key leadership roles, including Executive Vice President
for Science and Technology and President of the Lilly Research
Laboratories. He is also a Co-founder and Board Member of Sage
Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SAGE), and a Co-founder of Voyager
Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VYGR).
Daphne Zohar, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of PureTech
Health, said: "Steve is an accomplished leader in neuroscience drug
development with unique expertise successfully advancing the
development of important CNS medicines. As one of the scientists
involved in the original xanomeline work at Lilly, he was very
helpful to us when we launched this programme. We are delighted to
welcome him as Chief Executive Officer of Karuna and believe he
will be instrumental in advancing KarXT through the clinic as a
potential first-in-class treatment for psychosis and cognitive
impairments in serious CNS disorders. We also thank Andrew for his
innovative vision, dedication and leadership as a co-founder and
inventor of the exciting programme at Karuna and look forward to
his continued contributions as Chief Operating Officer."
The full text of the announcement from Karuna is as follows:
Karuna Appoints Seasoned Biopharma Veteran Steven Paul, MD, As
Chief Executive Officer
Former President of Lilly Research Laboratories and Co-founder
of Sage and Voyager brings proven track record in neuroscience drug
development
Karuna founder, Andrew Miller, PhD, to serve as Chief Operating
Officer
BOSTON, August 15, 2018 - Karuna Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
("Karuna"), focused on targeting muscarinic cholinergic receptors
for the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders marked by psychosis
and cognitive impairment, today announced the appointment of Steven
Paul, MD, as Chief Executive Officer, effective August 15. Founder,
Andrew Miller, PhD, is a member of the board and will assume the
role of Chief Operating Officer.
"As the lead inventor of Karuna's lead programme KarXT, Andrew
has been essential in both creating and executing on the vision for
Karuna, and I thank him for bringing the company to this point
where it is -
positioned for immense growth," said Dr Paul. "Targeting
muscarinic receptors is one of the most promising approaches to
treating both the psychosis and cognitive impairment that
characterise many disabling neuropsychiatric disorders, including
schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease, where there is a profound
need for more effective treatments. Having been one of the
scientists involved in the original work on xanomeline at Lilly, I
am excited by the progress that Karuna has made to unlock this
important new class of therapeutics. I am looking forward to
helping Karuna become a leader in the field and believe in the
potential for KarXT to be the first antipsychotic drug with a truly
novel mechanism in over 60 years. We are also excited by recent
preclinical work suggesting that KarXT may be an effective
non-opiate treatment for pain."
"I worked closely with Steve at Sage Therapeutics and his
experience and creativity in the field is rare," said Robert
Nelsen, Managing Director of ARCH Venture Partners, and Board
Member at Karuna. "KarXT's potential to meet unmet patient need is
exciting and Steve's experience is perfectly aligned to support
Karuna's goal of delivering first-in-class drugs for treating
psychosis, cognitive impairment, and pain."
Dr Paul, who also serves as Chairman of the Karuna Board, is an
expert in central nervous system (CNS) drug discovery and
development. He spent 17 years at Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:
LLY), during which time he held several key leadership roles,
including Executive Vice President for Science and Technology and
President of the Lilly Research Laboratories, where he was
responsible for the Company's overall research and development
efforts for CNS drugs such as Zyprexa(R) and Cymbalta(R). At Lilly,
Dr Paul also helped oversee the development of xanomeline where its
antipsychotic and procognitive properties were initially
demonstrated. Prior to Lilly, Steve spent 18 years at the National
Institute of Health (NIH) and served as the Scientific Director of
the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Dr Paul is a
Co-founder and Board Member of Sage Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SAGE), a
Co-founder of Voyager Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VYGR) where he served
as President, Chief Executive Officer, and member of the Board of
Directors, and a member of the Board of Directors at Alnylam
Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALNY). Dr Paul is the former Director of
the Appel Alzheimer Disease Research Institute at Weill Cornell
Medical College and is currently an Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry
at Washington University of St Louis School of Medicine.
Dr Paul has authored or co-authored more than 550 papers and
book chapters. He is an elected fellow of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science and a member of the National Academy
of Medicine (NAM) of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). He is
also an elected fellow of the American College of
Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) and served as ACNP President (1999).
Dr Paul is the Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for the NIH
(FNIH) and previously served on the Science Board of the US Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) in addition to serving on many other
advisory committees and receiving many awards and honors for his
work in neuropsychiatry.
"We have made significant progress in the development of our
lead product candidate, KarXT, and we are thrilled to have Steve at
the helm as we advance into a Phase 2 trial in schizophrenia in the
third quarter," said Dr Miller. "Steve has an extensive track
record of successfully advancing the R&D activities of novel
molecular entities for CNS disorders, having led efforts from
discovery through commercialisation for blockbuster treatments. His
expertise will be immensely valuable as we drive Karuna
forward."
About Karuna Pharmaceuticals
Karuna is a clinical-stage drug development company targeting
muscarinic cholinergic receptors for the treatment of psychosis and
cognitive impairment across central nervous system (CNS) disorders,
including schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease, as well as
neuropathic pain. Karuna's lead product candidate, KarXT, consists
of xanomeline, a novel muscarinic acetylcholine receptor agonist
that has demonstrated efficacy in placebo-controlled human trials
in schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease, and trospium chloride, an
FDA-approved and well-established muscarinic receptor antagonist
that has been shown not to enter the central nervous system (CNS).
Karuna has demonstrated improved tolerability of KarXT vs.
xanomeline alone in a placebo-controlled human study and is
currently conducting a Phase 1 trial using a proprietary
co-formulation of xanomeline and trospium chloride. A Phase 2 trial
of safety and efficacy in people with schizophrenia is expected to
begin in the third quarter of 2018. Karuna, which was founded by
PureTech Health (LSE: PRTC), has a worldwide exclusive license for
xanomeline and has a patent portfolio more broadly covering
selective muscarinic targeting enabled by the KarXT approach. For
more information, visit www.karunapharma.com.
About PureTech Health
PureTech Health (LSE: PRTC) is an advanced, clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company developing novel medicines for
dysfunctions of the Brain-Immune-Gut (BIG). The Company has
developed deep insight into the connection between these systems
and the resulting role in many chronic diseases, which represent
the majority of healthcare spend and have proven resistant to
established therapeutic approaches. By harnessing this emerging
field of human biology, PureTech Health has developed new
categories of medicines with the potential to have great impact on
people with serious diseases.
PureTech Health is advancing a rich pipeline of innovative
therapies across two divisions. Its Affiliates division includes
two product candidates that are preparing for potential regulatory
approval in the United States and Europe and a number of clinical
and pre-clinical programmes. These affiliates have developed
ground-breaking platforms and therapeutic candidates in
collaboration with some of the world's leading scientific
experts.
PureTech's Internal division (Ariya) is advancing a pipeline
fuelled by recent discoveries in lymphatics and immune cell
trafficking to modulate disease in a tissue-specific manner. These
programmes build on a new understanding of the transport and
biodistribution of various immune system components in order to
develop targeted therapies for diseases with major unmet needs
including cancer and autoimmune and neuroimmune disorders. One of
these programmes, which is focused on the oral administration of
nucleic acids and other biologics using milk exosomes, is being
advanced in collaboration with Roche for the potential application
across their antisense oligonucleotides platform.
For more information, visit www.puretechhealth.com or connect
with us on Twitter @puretechh.
Forward Looking Statement
This press release contains statements that are or may be
forward-looking statements, including statements that relate to the
company's future prospects, developments and strategies. The
forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and
are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results, performance and achievements to differ
materially from current expectations, including, but not limited
to, those risks and uncertainties described in the risk factors
included in the regulatory filings for PureTech Health plc. These
forward-looking statements are based on assumptions regarding the
present and future business strategies of the company and the
environment in which it will operate in the future. Each
forward-looking statement speaks only as at the date of this press
release. Except as required by law and regulatory requirements,
neither the company nor any other party intends to update or revise
these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
Contact:
Investors EU media US media
Allison Mead Talbot Ben Atwell, Rob Winder Tom Donovan
+1 617 651 3156 +44 (0) 20 3727 1000 +1 857 559 3397
amt@puretechhealth.com ben.atwell@FTIconsulting.com tom@tenbridgecommunications.com
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END
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