PLANTATION, Fla., Jan. 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Neurotrope, Inc. (OTCQB: NTRP) (the “Company”) announced today that it has hired Dr. Richard Scheyer as Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Mr. Ira Weisberg as Vice President, Commercial Operations and Mr. David Crockford as Vice President, Regulatory Affairs. All three new executives will report to Dr. James New, the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
Dr. Richard Scheyer
Dr. Richard Scheyer has 30 years of professional medical experience which includes over 16 years dedicated to clinical drug development.
Dr. Scheyer was most recently President of in vivo veritas, a firm specialized in Translational Medicine and Phase 1 / 2a pharmaceutical development. Prior to this position, Dr. Scheyer was Executive Director Translational Medicine / Clinical Science at Daiichi Sankyo Pharma Development, overseeing early clinical, biomarker, and pharmacogenomic strategy and execution for more than 60 development candidates across therapeutic areas. Dr. Scheyer’s also led Clinical Advice function in Daiichi Medical Research, responsible for clinical studies across phases and discipline, and Clinical Pharmacology in Daiichi Sankyo.
Before joining Daiichi Sankyo, Dr. Scheyer was Director of Clinical Pharmacology, later Clinical Discovery and Human Pharmacology, at Hoechst Marion Roussel and Aventis Pharma, with special interest in early demonstration of clinical efficacy, and later served as Senior Director and Global Project Team Leader for Phase 2b / 3 programs at Aventis Pharma and Sanofi-Aventis. Dr. Scheyer led the development of teriflunomide (Aubagio) for multiple sclerosis from Phase 1 to Phase 3.
He has served on the Foundation for the NIH Biomarkers Consortium, and on Board of Directors of the Serious Adverse Event Consortium. Dr. Scheyer has published over 60 manuscripts and abstracts, with focus on clinical pharmacology and therapeutic activity in areas ranging from diabetes to oncology.
Dr. Scheyer received his B.S. in Physics from Stanford University, his M.D. from The State University of New York, Upstate Medical University, and completed residency training in Neurology and fellowship training in Epilepsy and Clinical Pharmacology at Yale University before joining the Yale faculty, serving as Associate Professor of Neurology.
Mr. Ira Weisberg
Mr. Weisberg is an accomplished pharmaceuticals and biotech executive with over 35 years in business and corporate development experience managing companies, fund raising, product development, sales and distribution channels, compliance, regulatory, managed care, reimbursement systems, licensing, and other corporate and business development transactions in both the U.S. and international markets.
Mr. Weisberg worked in both large pharmaceutical companies including American Home Products, Cooper Laboratories and emerging pharmaceutical and biotech companies including Interferon Sciences and LifeCycle Pharma. He has led or been involved with corporate partnering, mergers and acquisitions, new venture formation and financing within a number of therapeutic areas such as cancer and cardiovascular medicine. Mr. Weisberg was President and CEO of AlphaVax, an emerging cancer vaccine development company. He has also led product launches in the pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors, including managing the Critical Care business for Aventis Behring.
Mr. Weisberg earned his B.S. in Microbiology at St. John’s University.
Mr. David Crockford
Mr. Crockford has more than 30 years of professional experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.
Mr. Crockford led the development and obtained marketing approval of 18 drug products, 17 immunodiagnostic tests, and an intraoperative medical device. He co-founded and presided over one of the first publicly-held companies in the field of genetic engineering, pioneering the development and commercial application of monoclonal antibodies. Mr. Crockford has organized, presented and led discussions in many face-to-face meetings and teleconferences with a variety of Divisions and Centers (CBER, CDER and CDRH) at FDA. He provided the regulatory strategy and direction and led the clinical development of a regenerative peptide for the treatment of patients with certain ailments including neurodegenerative diseases.
Mr. Crockford is the author of a number of articles and sole inventor/co-inventor of approximately twenty patents and applications disclosing compositions, methods of drug use and delivery. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology from Boston University’s College of Arts and Sciences and completed seminars in clinical chemistry, sponsored by Princeton University/Princeton Hospital, and reproductive medicine at Wayne State’s Mott Center for Human Growth and Development and UCLA Medical School.
Dr. James New, the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer stated, “I am extremely pleased to have these three experienced healthcare executives join Neurotrope. Their extensive and diversified skill base will significantly enhance the Company’s goals of commercializing our technologies relating to the diagnostic and therapeutic products focused on Alzheimer’s Disease along with our current efforts exploring therapeutic products for other neurodegenerative diseases such as Fragile X and Niemann Pick. I believe we now have a well-rounded and experienced management team to accomplish our business plan goals and objectives.”
About Neurotrope
Neurotrope was formed in October 2012 to develop and market two product platforms, including a minimally-invasive diagnostic test for Alzheimer’s Disease and a drug candidate called bryostatin for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease, both of which are in the clinical testing stage. These technologies were initially developed by The Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute (“BRNI”) and its affiliates starting in 1999 and have been financed through significant funding from a variety of non-investor sources. The Company expects that its first product, the diagnostic test for Alzheimer’s Disease, will finish the testing phase of its development in 2015, whereupon the Company will evaluate the feasibility of its commercialization. In addition to bryostatin and the diagnostic test for Alzheimer’s Disease, the Company currently intends to pursue the development of bryostatin analogues, which have demonstrated preclinical potency in treating ischemic stroke and other neurodegenerative disorders.
Please visit www.neurotropebioscience.com for further information.
Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements contained in this press release that do not describe historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements regarding (i) the plans and objectives of management for future operations, including plans or objectives relating to the development of commercially viable pharmaceuticals, (ii) a projection of income (including income/loss), earnings (including earnings/loss) per share, capital expenditures, dividends, capital structure or other financial items, (iii) the Company’s future financial performance and (iv) the assumptions underlying or relating to any statement described in points (i), (ii) or (iii) above. Such forward-looking statements are not meant to predict or guarantee actual results, performance, events or circumstances and may not be realized because they are based upon the Company’s current projections, plans, objectives, beliefs, expectations, estimates and assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties and other influences, many of which the Company has no control over. Actual results and the timing of certain events and circumstances may differ materially from those described by the forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties. Factors that may influence or contribute to the inaccuracy of the forward-looking statements or cause actual results to differ materially from expected or desired results may include, without limitation, the Company’s inability to obtain adequate financing, the significant length of time associated with drug development and related insufficient cash flows and resulting illiquidity, the Company’s inability to expand the Company’s business, significant government regulation of pharmaceuticals and the healthcare industry, lack of product diversification, volatility in the price of the Company’s raw materials, existing or increased competition, results of arbitration and litigation, stock volatility and illiquidity, and the Company’s failure to implement the Company’s business plans or strategies. These and other factors are identified and described in more detail in the Company’s filings with the SEC, including, the Company’s current reports on Form 8-K. The Company does not undertake to update these forward-looking statements.
For additional information, please contact:
Investor Relations:
Investor Awareness, Inc.
Tony Schor, 847-945-2222 ext. 221
tony@investorawareness.com
www.InvestorAwareness.com
The Company:
Robert Weinstein
Chief Financial Officer
(914) 295-2765
rweinstein@neurotropebioscience.com
www.neurotropebioscience.com
SOURCE Neurotrope, Inc.
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