NEWARK, NJ--(Marketwire - June 17, 2010) - Edge Therapeutics, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on improving the delivery of life-saving medicines to the brain, is pleased to announce the appointment of 21 scientific advisory board members and five business advisors.
"We are honored to have many of the world's leading experts in stroke and brain injury research participate in our scientific advisory board," said R. Loch Macdonald, MD, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of Edge Therapeutics and Keenan Endowed Chair of Neurosurgery at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto. "These individuals, from leading academic institutes around the world, offer tremendous medical and clinical experience as well as first-hand knowledge of the devastating effects of hemorrhagic stroke and traumatic brain injury."
Scientific advisory board members include:
E. Francois Aldrich, MB, ChB
Associate Professor of Neurosurgery; Chief of Cerebrovascular Surgery, University of Maryland Medical System
Gretchen M. Brophy, PharmD, BCPS, FCCP, FCCM
Professor of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science and Neurosurgery, Virginia Commonwealth University, Medical College of Virginia Campus
Fady T. Charbel, MD, FACS
Professor of Neurosurgery; Head Chief of Neurovascular Section, University of Illinois, College of Medicine at Chicago
E. Sander Connolly, Jr., MD
Bennett M. Stein Professor of Neurosurgery; Vice-Chairman Department of Neurological Surgery, Surgical Director, Neuro-Intensive Care Unit, Columbia University Medical Center
Joseph Dasta, MSc
Professor Emeritus, Division of Pharmacy Practice and Administration, The Ohio State University, Adjunct Professor, University of Texas College of Pharmacy
Neal F. Kassell, MD
Professor of Neurosurgery; Vice Chair, Department of Neurosurgery; University of Virginia Health Sciences Center
Hidetoshi Kasuya, MD
Professor of Neurosurgery; Head of the Division of Neurosurgery, Medical Center East, Tokyo Women's Medical University
Peter D. LeRoux, MD, FACS
Associate Professor of Neurosurgery; Vice-Chairman, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania
Stephen B. Lewis, MD, FRACS
Associate Professor of Neurosurgery; James and Newton Eblen Eminent Scholar, Cerebrovascular and Skull Base Tumor Surgery, Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Florida
Stephan A. Mayer, MD, FCCM
Professor of Clinical Neurology and Neurological Surgery; Director, Neurological Intensive Care Unit, Columbia University Medical Center
J. Paul Muizelaar, MD, PhD
Professor of Neurosurgery; Chair, Program Director, Neurological Surgery, University of California at Davis Health System
J. Mocco, MD, MS
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, Shands Hospital at the University of Florida
Charles Prestigiacomo, MD
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery; Director of the Neurological Surgery Residency Program, Neurological Institute of New Jersey, University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey
J. Javier Provencio, MD, FCCM
Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Fellowship Director for the Neurocritical Care Program, Associate Director for Research for the Bakken Heart-Brain Institute
Denise Rhoney, PharmD, FCCM, FCCP
Associate Professor; Department of Pharmacy Practice, Wayne State University;
Clinical Pharmacist Specialist, Department of Pharmacy, Detroit Receiving Hospital
Jose I. Suarez, MD
Associate Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery; Director of Vascular Neurology and Neurocritical Care, Baylor College of Medicine
Paul M. Vespa, MD, FCCM
Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery, UCLA School of Medicine; Director, Neurological Intensive Care Unit, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
Bryce Weir OC, MSc, FRCSC, FACS, FRCS (Ed) hon.
Goldblatt Professor Emeritus of Surgery and Neurology, Former Chief of Neurosurgery, Interim Dean of the Biological Sciences Division and the Pritzker School of Medicine and Vice President for Medical Affairs, The University of Chicago Medical School
Howard Yonas, MD
Professor of Neurosurgery; Director of the UNM Cerebrovascular Center; Chair, Department of Neurosurgery, University of New Mexico; Formerly Vice Chair of Neurosurgery and the Director of Cerebrovascular Surgery, University of Pittsburgh
John H. Zhang, MD, PhD
Professor of Neurosurgery, Anesthesiology, Physiology and Pharmacology; Director of Neurosurgery Research; Director of Anesthesiology Basic Science Research; Associate Chair and Physiology Graduate Program Coordinator, Loma Linda University Medical Center
Gregory Zipfel, MD
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and Neurology, Washington University, Barnes-Jewish Hospital
Business Advisors
"We are excited to welcome these seasoned professionals to Edge Therapeutics and are pleased that they will play a role in driving our business development programs as they provide senior guidance and strategy to our company," said Brian A. Leuthner, President and CEO of Edge Therapeutics.
The newly appointed business advisors include:
Geert Cauwenbergh, Ph.D
Dr. Cauwenbergh was the founder of Barrier Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company, and Phases123, a company focused on health care technology platforms and emerging health care companies. Mr. Cauwenbergh served as Global Vice President of Research and Development for Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies Worldwide. Until recently he was the CEO and chairman of RHEI Pharmaceuticals, a company that in-licenses western pharmaceutical products for the Chinese and SE Asian markets. He is currently the chairman of the Board of BioNJ, the industry organization for biotechnology in New Jersey, and executive chairman of ECI Biotech, a leader in point of care diagnostic research and development.
Kurt Conti
An entrepreneurial leader in the construction industry, Mr. Conti is the CEO and President of the Conti Group, a nationally recognized general contractor delivering program management, construction services, and engineering across the United States and internationally. Mr. Conti brings more than 25 years of business experience and leadership to Edge Therapeutics. In addition, Mr. Conti is an active corporate citizen and serves on executive boards and advisory committees such as the New York Building Congress, the Salvation Army, The Pingry School and The Moles.
Arthur Klausner
Mr. Klausner is a life sciences venture capitalist with more than 18 years of experience at Domain Associates and Pappas Ventures. Mr. Klausner has been a board member at Santarus, X-Ceptor, Altea Therapeutics, CeNeRx BioPharma, Gentis and Syndax Pharmaceuticals. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Neurotez, a privately held biotherapeutics company focused on Alzheimer's disease.
Scott Pallais
Mr. Pallais is an experienced pharmaceutical executive who worked in the pharmaceutical industry for Marion Laboratories in sales, marketing and medical education. After leaving Marion Laboratories he and his wife started a medical education company, Armand Scott, Inc., providing targeted, innovative educational products and services for clients in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical devices, and managed care industries. In 2000, Mr. Pallais sold Armand Scott and now heads Sentinel Hydrosolutions, LLC., a technology company focusing on water security.
Joseph C. Sanginiti
Mr. Sanginiti spent 28 successful years within several Fortune 500 organizations including 20 years working in the pharmacy benefit management industry as a senior executive of Express Scripts, a fortune 100 company. His experiences as Vice President and General Manager of Pharmacy Operations helps him bring to Edge Therapeutics a strong background in finance, operational management, leadership and contract negotiations. More recently, Mr. Sanginiti started his own company, Asher Investments, LLC, where he is investing in early startup companies and serving on a number of Board of Directors.
About Edge Therapeutics
Edge Therapeutics is a privately held specialty pharmaceutical company located at the Enterprise Development Center Incubator on the campus of New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, NJ. The company was founded in 2009 and is supported by private investors, the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology, and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. Edge Therapeutics seeks to revolutionize treatment to prevent secondary brain damage after hemorrhagic stroke or TBI, by taking off-patent drugs and delivering them directly to the brain via novel sustained-release formulations. The most advanced product, NimoGel™, consists of the generic calcium channel blocker nimodipine formulated in a biodegradable polymer carrier composed of FDA-approved materials. NimoGel™ is designed to be placed directly next to brain arteries after surgery for ruptured brain aneurysms or TBI to prevent vasospasm, a type of secondary stroke, and thereby improve patient outcomes. For more information on Edge Therapeutics, please visit www.edgetherapeutics.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 as contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that reflect management's current views and estimates regarding future market conditions, company performance, business prospects, new strategies, the competitive environment and other events. These statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to materially differ from the potential results discussed in the forward-looking statements.
For more information contact:
Edge Therapeutics, Inc.
Brian A. Leuthner
President & CEO
Phone: 800-208-EDGE (3343)
