STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN – 24 April, 2017. Modus Therapeutics AB, a Karolinska Development (STO:KDEV) portfolio company focused on innovative treatments for patients with sickle cell disease (SCD), announces the appointment of Ellen K. Donnelly, Ph.D as Chief Executive Officer. Modus Therapeutics’ lead drug candidate sevuparin is currently in a Phase II clinical trial in patients with SCD.
Dr. Donnelly joins Modus Therapeutics from Pfizer, Inc., where she has held numerous leadership positions in Clinical Operations; Project and Portfolio Management; and Research. Most recently she was responsible for Clinical Operations for Pfizer’s Neuroscience and Pain therapeutic area. Dr. Donnelly also brings biotech and consulting experience to the CEO role, having worked in positions within U.S. biotech and management consulting prior to her time at Pfizer. Dr. Donnelly received her Ph.D. from Yale University.
Chairman of Modus Therapeutics, Björn Sjöstrand, said: “We are pleased to welcome Dr. Donnelly as CEO and are confident her background and broad experience in global drug development will help drive Modus Therapeutics forward, as we continue patient recruitment in our Phase II clinical study with sevuparin for SCD.”
Dr. Donnelly added: “I am thrilled to join Modus at this important time for the Company. SCD is a crippling disease affecting many hundreds of thousands of patients around the world and Modus has a clear plan to address patients’ pain through both hospital and home-based treatment options. The high unmet medical needs of SCD patients require novel therapeutic options, and I look forward to working with patients and their families to ensure the best possible outcomes for this disease, as we further develop sevuparin for SCD.”
Dr. Donnelly will be based in Stockholm and will take up her appointment on 25 April 2017. She succeeds Dr. Christina Herder.
For further information, please contact:
Björn Sjöstrand, Chairman of the Board, Modus Therapeutics:
Tel: +46 727 125 120
E-mail: bjorn.sjostrand@modustx.com
David Dible/ Pip Batty, Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Tel: +44 20 7638 9571
E-mail: david.dible@citigatedr.co.uk
TO THE EDITORS
About Modus Therapeutics AB
Modus Therapeutics is a Swedish biotech company developing sevuparin - a new drug to treat people suffering from sickle cell disease (SCD) – a painful, inherited blood disorder affecting millions of people around the globe. Sickle Cell Disease patients’ blood cells form a sickled shape, which makes blood flow to vital organs difficult, causing severe pain and even premature death. Sevuparin has the potential to improve the SCD patients’ blood flow reducing their pain and the amount of time they will need to spend in hospital and is currently recruiting for a Phase II clinical study. Modus plans to develop an administration form of sevuparin that the patient can self-administer allowing them to live a more normal life by preventing the painful episodes requiring hospital care.
Modus is predominantly owned by KDev Investments AB, part of Karolinska Development AB (Nasdaq Stockholm: KDEV) and Rosetta Capital. Other larger owners are The Foundation for Baltic and European Studies (Östersjöstiftelsen) and Praktikerinvest AB. For more information, please visit www.modustx.com
About sevuparin
Sevuparin is an innovative, proprietary polysaccharide drug, which has the potential to restore blood flow and prevent further microvascular obstructions, caused by abnormal blood cells in SCD patients. With its anti-adhesive properties, sevuparin could thereby offer treatment of the underlying cause of vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) in SCD patients, with earlier pain relief, shorter hospital stay, reduced need of opioids and improved quality of life. Modus is currently enrolling patients in a Phase II study with the aim to present data during first half 2018.
About sickle cell disease
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a painful, inherited blood disorder affecting millions of people around the globe and the most common inherited blood disorder in the U.S. affecting between 90,000-100,000 subjects, with medical care costs amounting to more than $1 billion. In Europe it is estimated that there are 35,000-40,000 SCD patients, and this number is higher in the Middle East and North Africa regions, with over 850,000 SCD patients.
There is currently no pharmaceutical product available that targets the underlying cause of VOCs that affect SCD patients. Current therapies are predominantly strong intravenous pain medications and SCD patients often have to be hospitalized in order to be treated.
