AgeneBio Appoints Industry Leaders Patrick Lepore As Chairman Of The Board And Jerry Mclaughlin As President And Chief Executive Officer
AgeneBio Appoints Industry Leaders Patrick LePore as Chairman of the Board and Jerry McLaughlin as President and Chief Executive Officer
Appointments Complete Leadership Team to Advance Development Programs Including a Product Candidate in Phase II/III to Slow the Progression of Alzheimer's Disease
BALTIMORE, MD--(Marketwired - Jul 25, 2014) - AgeneBio, Inc., a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing medicines to restore and preserve patients' cognitive function for a range of debilitating neurodegenerative diseases, today announced the appointment of Patrick LePore as chairman of the board and Jerry McLaughlin as president and chief executive officer. Both appointments are effective immediately.
"Pat and Jerry are distinguished leaders in the pharmaceutical industry and will play integral roles in the development and commercialization of the AgeneBio portfolio by providing strategic guidance as we continue to advance our product pipeline," says Dr. Michela Gallagher, founder and chief scientific officer of AgeneBio.
Mr. LePore has over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, most recently as Chairman, CEO and President of Par Pharmaceuticals where he guided the company to a sale to Texas Pacific Group. His industry experience spans both the private and public sectors with board and operational experience in each, making him one of a handful of pharmaceutical executives with in depth knowledge of the brand, generic and pharmaceutical service industries.
"The development of a therapeutic to transform the management of Alzheimer's disease is desperately needed and yet potentially within reach, and I'm thrilled at the prospect of helping AgeneBio achieve that goal," said LePore.
Prior to joining AgeneBio, Mr. McLaughlin served as senior vice president and chief commercial officer of NuPathe Inc. through the company's sale to Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. in 2014. At NuPathe, McLaughlin was responsible for preparing the organization for commercialization. In addition, he played an integral role in raising capital, including an initial public offering and corporate development initiatives that led to acquisition by Teva in a competitive M&A process. He has also held a variety of commercial leadership roles at Merck and Endo Pharmaceuticals with extensive experience launching new products, including several for central nervous system indications.
AgeneBio's lead product candidate, AGB101, a tablet taken once a day, is being developed to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease from the time patients and their family members begin to notice issues with memory. This stage of Alzheimer's, called amnestic mild cognitive impairment, or aMCI, precedes the point where a patient experiences dementia and may be the ideal time to intervene with advancing disease process. There is compelling evidence that the part of the brain critical to creating new memories, the hippocampus, becomes overactive in patients with early Alzheimer's leading to decreased brain function and worsening of Alzheimer's symptoms. AGB101 slows activity in the hippocampus to restore normal brain function.
"The looming challenge of an aging population confronted by Alzheimer's is one of the largest and most frightening public health issues on the horizon, presenting a significant challenge and opportunity for companies like AgeneBio," said McLaughlin. "This is an exciting time to be joining the AgeneBio team as the company prepares to initiate a large-scale Phase II/III clinical trial for AGB101 in 2015."
Pending the results of a two year, large-scale clinical trial expected to be initiated by mid-2015 and subsequent regulatory submission, AGB101 could be the first FDA approved product indicated to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease while improving patient memory.
About AgeneBio, Inc.
AgeneBio is developing therapeutics with the potential to preserve and restore cognitive function affected by a number of neurodegenerative diseases. AgeneBio's lead product candidate, AGB101, is being developed to slow progression of Alzheimer's disease and improve patient memory. Results from a Phase II study of AGB101 published in 2012 demonstrated restoration of normal brain function and improvement in memory in patients treated with AGB101 compared to placebo. The company is planning to initiate a Phase II/III clinical trial in mid-2015. Pending clinical trial results and FDA approval, AGB101 has the potential to be the first Alzheimer's therapeutic to not only improve memory but also to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease.
The company also has a novel GABAA a5 small molecule program in late discovery stage with potential to address unmet needs for several diseases of the central nervous system including Alzheimer's disease, autism, and schizophrenia. The technology and patents behind AgeneBio's pipeline were discovered and initially developed by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, including the company's founder and chief scientific officer, Michela Gallagher, PhD.
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