COLUMBIA, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Endevica Bio, a company developing first-in-class peptide drug candidates with better safety and efficacy properties, appointed Daniel Marks, M.D. Ph.D. as Chief Medical Officer (CMO). Dr. Marks is a prominent researcher in cachexia, Endevica’s first targeted indication for its lead product candidate TCMCB07, and Dr. Marks will help guide the company through pre-clinical and clinical development.

“Dr. Marks has dedicated his career to studying cachexia and is one of the world’s leading experts on the disease and its mechanisms. He has provided us with his expertise while serving on our Board and now we are very fortunate that his role will be expanded as he joins our executive leadership team as CMO,” said Russ Potterfield, CEO and Executive Chairman of Endevica Bio.

Dr. Marks is an established physician scientist with decades of experience leading basic and clinical research studies including the research program at the Daniel Marks Pediatric Research Lab at Oregon Health & Science University and Doernbecher Children's Hospital. Research in Dr. Marks' lab has led to the hypothesis that an increase in melanocortin signaling in the hypothalamus may be responsible for many of the features of illness-induced cachexia and failure to thrive. The lab demonstrated that the growth failure and loss of lean body mass that would otherwise accompany acute and chronic disease could be reversed by pharmacological blockade of melanocortin signaling, and by genetic deletion of the type 4 melanocortin receptor (MC4-R).

“My personal mission throughout my career is to gain a better understanding of cachexia so that patients can finally have a therapeutic treatment option and better quality of life. Studies thus far of TCMCB07 are promising and as Chief Medical Officer of Endevica, I’m looking forward to generating more compelling data and the prospect of bringing TCMCB07 to market and into the hands of patients who so desperately need it.”

Dr. Marks received both his medical degree and Ph.D. in 1995 from the University of Washington in Seattle. Dr. Marks completed his residency at the University of Utah, SLC in 1998, followed by a fellowship in pediatric endocrinology at Oregon Health & Science University in 2001. Dr. Marks is currently the Senior Associate Dean for Research in the School of Medicine; Associate Director of the OHSU MD, PhD program; Director of the Patient Resiliency Program for the Brenden-Colson Center for Pancreatic Care; and, the Director of the Papé Family Pediatric Research Institute at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, OR.

About Endevica Bio
Endevica Bio was formed to create first-in-class peptide drug candidates with better safety and efficacy properties than other drugs in the same class. Endevica’s technology platform, protected by a family of patents and pending applications, allows for the modification of peptides to perform with improved half-life, oral activity, and the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. Endevica’s initial drug candidate, TCMCB07, is designed to treat cancer cachexia, which is the cause of death for up to 40% of cancer patients. More information can be found at www.endevicabio.com.

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