RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., June 11 /PRNewswire/ -- CeNeRx BioPharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing innovative treatments for diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), today announced the appointment of Dr. Mahnaz Asgharnejad as Vice President of Clinical Development. Dr. Asgharnejad will play a central role in expanding CeNeRx’s clinical development capabilities and advancing the clinical trials of CeNeRx’s investigational drugs. Previously, Dr. Asgharnejad spent more than two decades at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), where she held clinical development positions of increasing responsibility, most recently as GSK’s Senior Director of Psychiatry Clinical Development and Product Strategy.
“Dr. Asgharnejad is a leading CNS clinical development practitioner and we are delighted that she has chosen to join the CeNeRx team,” said Daniel Burch, M.D., Executive Vice President of R&D and Chief Medical Officer of CeNeRx. “We expect her proven ability to lead successful clinical development programs addressing a variety of CNS disorders and her deep knowledge of the evolving clinical and regulatory landscape will contribute greatly to our progress going forward.”
Dr. Asgharnejad’s extensive industry experience includes more than 20 years of clinical program design and management. In recent years, she was responsible for developing and implementing development strategies for candidates at various clinical stages for disorders including unipolar and bipolar depression, ADHD, obesity and migraine. Dr. Asgharnejad has managed projects at all phases of development, including successful new product submissions to the FDA.
“CeNeRx’s pipeline of novel candidates for CNS-related disorders with high unmet need presents an exceptional opportunity to leverage my varied expertise in the clinical development of compounds for CNS and other conditions,” said Dr. Asgharnejad. “I look forward to working with the CeNeRx team to advance Tyrima(TM), our lead RIMA anti-depressant, into Phase II trials and to supporting the company’s promising preclinical portfolio.”
Dr. Asgharnejad received B.S. and Pharm.D. degrees from the University of Minnesota. She is a frequent presenter at scientific and medical meetings and is a co-author of several scientific papers.
About CeNeRx BioPharma
CeNeRx (SEN-er-ex) is a privately held clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing innovative treatments for diseases of the central nervous system. CeNeRx’s most advanced compounds, reversible inhibitors of monoamine oxidase, or RIMAs, are in late preclinical and Phase I development for the treatment of major depressive disorder. RIMAs may have efficacy advantages over current agents for depression and are expected to have a good safety profile. The company is also developing its preclinical pipeline of selective cannabinoid compounds for the treatment of pain, glaucoma and obesity. More information about CeNeRx BioPharma can be found at http://www.cenerx.com
CONTACT: Barbara Lindheim of GendeLLindheim BioCom Partners,
+1-212-918-4642, for CeNeRx BioPharma, Inc.
Web site: http://www.cenerx.com/
