LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Phytecs, a biotechnology company exploring potential therapies that target the body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS) to treat disease, today announced the addition of new members to the company’s Scientific Advisory Board:

• Pal Pacher, M.D., Ph.D., is head of the Laboratory of Cardiovascular Physiology and Tissue Injury at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and an adjunct professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Texas Medical Branch.

  Dr. Pacher was included in the 2014, 2015 and 2016 Thompson Reuters lists of “The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds,” a citation analysis identifying the scientists who have made the most significant global impact within their respective field of study. He is an editorial board member of numerous scientific periodicals, recipient of international research awards and grants, and elected fellow of the American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology and American Physiological Society.

• Yossi Tam, D.M.D, Ph.D., is director of the Hebrew University’s Multidisciplinary Center on Cannabinoid Research, one of the world’s leading institutes for conducting and coordinating research about cannabinoids, endocannabinoids and medical Cannabis. Dr. Tam is also head of the Obesity and Metabolism Laboratory at the Hebrew University’s Institute for Drug Research in the Faculty of Medicine, and serves as a senior lecturer in the Department of Pharmacology at the Hebrew University.

  Prior to his current roles, Dr. Tam was a postdoctoral visiting fellow at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, where he worked on targeting the peripheral endocannabinoid system for the treatment of obesity and its hormonal/metabolic complications. He has received many prestigious awards, most recently the Jacob Metzner’s Young Investigator Award from the Faculty of Medicine at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

• Daniel Javitt, M.D., Ph.D., is professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he directs the Division of Experimental Therapeutics. He is also director of schizophrenia research at Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, a New York State Office of Mental Health-supported research facility.

  Dr. Javitt has published more than 250 articles on issues related to normal brain function, glutamate receptors and schizophrenia, with more than 28,000 citations to date. His work has been featured in Scientific American and many other popular science venues.

“We are thrilled to welcome Drs. Pacher, Tam and Javitt to the Phytecs organization and look forward to our collaboration,” said Gary Hiller, president and COO of Phytecs. “The endocannabinoid system has tremendous potential to treat serious diseases, including disorders in the areas of mental health, metabolism and inflammation. Phytecs continues to attract preeminent scientific talent from around the world, helping to advance our efforts to develop targeted therapies that address areas of medicine with significant unmet patient needs. Our new board members will help move Phytecs to the next stage of drug development and clinical trial initiation.”

“As we build upon what is known about the ECS and how the system affects different functions of the body and disease, I’m proud to collaborate with these leading researchers in their respective areas of expertise,” said Professor Raphael Mechoulam, M.S., Ph.D., senior research advisor at Phytecs. “With these new additions, the Phytecs Scientific Advisory Board truly represents the cutting edge in ECS research. Our work together will greatly enhance continued investigation into the ECS and compounds to help address patient needs.”

About Phytecs

Phytecs is a biotechnology company developing interventions that address the endocannabinoid system (ECS). The Phytecs team pioneered the modern understanding of how the ECS regulates aspects of physiology including immunity, pain, inflammation, mood, emotion, learning, memory, metabolism, appetite, weight, sleep, embryo development, neuroprotection and stress response; and how dysregulation of the system affects human health and disease. The unique Phytecs R&D and product development platform includes not only compounds isolated from the Cannabis plant but also novel, highly effective synthetic and semi-synthetic cannabinoid agents.

Phytecs is currently conducting research in the United States, Hungary, Israel, Italy, and Switzerland. For more information, please visit www.phytecs.com.

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