Aptinyx Appoints Ashish Khanna CFO and CBO

EVANSTON, Ill., Feb. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Aptinyx, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing transformative therapies for challenging neurologic disorders, today announced Ashish Khanna, the company’s chief business officer, has also been appointed its chief financial officer. Mr. Khanna’s role includes oversight of all finance and accounting in addition to corporate and business development. He led the efforts around Aptinyx’s recent raise of $70 million in a Series B financing, as well as the company’s $65 million Series A financing in 2016.

Mr. Khanna has served as chief business officer of Aptinyx since the company’s inception in 2015. He played a central role in forming and spinning out Aptinyx from its predecessor company, Naurex, as part of a transaction with Allergan. He joined Naurex as vice president of corporate development in 2010 and managed its financing and transaction efforts, culminating in the company’s acquisition by Allergan for $560 million upfront and $1.7 billion in total deal value.

“Ashish is a driving force behind our effort to advance our pipeline of novel drug candidates to address unmet patient needs and, in so doing, build Aptinyx into a leading neuroscience company,” said Norbert Riedel, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Aptinyx. “During his tenure at Aptinyx and Naurex, he has been instrumental in raising nearly $300 million in equity capital, he spearheaded a transformative and industry-lauded transaction, and he continues to lead a highly productive and motivated team that has impact across our organization. This promotion and CFO appointment reflect the magnitude of Ashish’s contributions to our success to date and growth trajectory ahead.”

Prior to Aptinyx and Naurex, Mr. Khanna served as director of business development at Vanda Pharmaceuticals. He was formerly a member of the cardiology strategic marketing team at Cordis Corporation, a Johnson & Johnson company. Earlier, he was a strategy consultant with the Palladium Group and with the Strategic Advisory Services practice of Ernst & Young (now Capgemini). Mr. Khanna serves on the board of directors of the Illinois Biotechnology Innovation Organization. He received a B.S. in finance and B.A.S. in systems engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, as well as an M.B.A. from the Wharton School.

About Aptinyx
Aptinyx Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing transformative therapies for challenging disorders of the brain and nervous system. Aptinyx has a proven platform for discovery of novel compounds that work through a unique mechanism to modulate - rather than block or over-activate - NMDA receptors and enhance synaptic plasticity, the foundation of neural cell communication. Drugs that modulate NMDA receptors in this distinct way have both robust efficacy and exceptionally favorable safety. The company’s lead drug candidate, NYX-2925, is in Phase 2 clinical development as a therapy for neuropathic pain and its second drug candidate, NYX-783, is in Phase 1 clinical development for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Both programs have received Fast Track designation by the FDA. Aptinyx is also advancing additional compounds from its proprietary chemistry platform, which continues to generate a rich and diverse pipeline of small-molecule NMDA receptor modulators with the potential to treat an array of neurologic disorders. For more information, visit www.aptinyx.com.

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SOURCE Aptinyx Inc.