Regenacy Pharmaceuticals Appoints Dr. William W. Chin to Board of Directors and Scientific Advisory Board

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regenacy Pharmaceuticals, LLC, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing breakthrough treatments for diabetic and other peripheral neuropathies, announced today the appointment of William (Bill) W. Chin, M.D., to its Board of Directors and Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Chin is currently the Chief Medical Officer at Frequency Therapeutics. Prior to joining Frequency, he served as Executive Vice President of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs and Chief Medical Officer at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and Senior Vice President, Discovery Research and Clinical Investigation at Eli Lilly.

“Bill is a world-renowned molecular endocrinologist who has pioneered the understanding of the mechanisms of nuclear receptor action. His expertise will be instrumental to Regenacy as we prepare to enter Phase II clinical trials in diabetic peripheral neuropathy later this year,” said Simon Jones, Ph.D., Regenacy’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We welcome Bill at a crucial stage of our company’s growth and look forward to his contributions that will support our mission to develop disease-modifying treatments for diabetic and other peripheral neuropathies.”

During his tenure at PhRMA, Dr. Chin led the organization’s efforts in science and regulatory advocacy in drug discovery and development. Prior to PhRMA, he was the Executive Dean for Research, Bertarelli Professor of Translational Medical Science and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School from 2010 to 2013. Dr. Chin held leadership positions at Eli Lilly and Company from 1999 to 2010, where he last served as Senior Vice President for Discovery Research and Clinical Investigation.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Chin to Regenacy’s Board of Directors and Scientific Advisory Board,” said Marc A. Cohen, Executive Chairman of Regenacy Pharmaceuticals. “Bill’s research and clinical experience represent a tremendous addition to Regenacy’s capabilities and knowledge base, exemplifying our commitment to building a world-class team in the peripheral neuropathy space. We are extremely pleased that Bill shares our vision for the transformative potential of our flagship drug, ricolinostat, to provide new treatment options to the over 50% of adults with diabetes who suffer from the debilitating effects of peripheral neuropathy.”

“I am honored to join this exceptional team and have the opportunity to advise the company as it continues to develop a pipeline of transformative treatments that go beyond analgesia to address the multiple complex issues underlying peripheral neuropathy, particularly those complicating longstanding diabetes mellitus,” said Dr. Chin. “Regenacy is progressing rapidly in its mission to build a leading peripheral neuropathy company and I look forward to contributing to its continued growth and evolution.”

Dr. Chin is a Harvard-trained endocrinologist and longstanding faculty member. His career is exemplified by his extensive bibliography of nearly 300 papers, chapters and books, many of which were authored during his 25 years on the Harvard Medical School (HMS) faculty. During this time, Dr. Chin was Chief of the Genetics Division in the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and Professor of Medicine at HMS. As a pioneering molecular endocrinologist at Harvard, Dr. Chin embraced the early use of emerging DNA technology to make important discoveries regarding the structure, function and regulation of hormone genes. His investigations often demonstrated a translational research theme, connecting basic laboratory discoveries to their physiologic relevance in animal models and humans. He has been honored with numerous awards for research, mentorship and leadership. Dr. Chin received his A.B. in Chemistry from Columbia University, and his M.D. from Harvard Medical School.

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) and chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) are among the most common and widely reported examples of distal symmetric polyneuropathies. The symptoms of DPN and CIPN include pain, numbness, tingling, and temperature sensitivity in the hands and feet, and in the case of CIPN can limit chemotherapeutic dosage, delay additional treatment cycles, and lead to early termination of treatment – each potentially reducing the benefit of chemotherapy. Current treatments address only the pain and are minimally effective, temporary, addictive, and/or poorly tolerated and do not restore normal function.

HDAC6, an intracellular deacetylase that regulates multiple intracellular processes such as protein degradation, intracellular transport, and mitochondrial function, has been implicated in the regulation of mitochondrial and protein transport along microtubules. Peripheral nerves, due to their length, are uniquely sensitive to metabolic and chemical insults that disrupt intracellular transport, leading to debilitating pain and numbness in part through mitochondrial dysfunction. Recent studies in animal models of DPN, CIPN and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a hereditary neuropathy, have implicated HDAC6 as a promising therapeutic target to restore nerve function in the periphery and significantly alleviate the symptoms of pain, sensitivity and numbness.

Regenacy Pharmaceuticals, LLC is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company regenerating biological function by protein acetylation for the treatment of diabetic and other peripheral neuropathies and other chronic conditions. The company’s selective inhibition technology provides superior safety profiles and potential enhanced efficacy compared to non-selective HDAC inhibitors. Regenacy’s programs selectively inhibit histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) to restore normal intracellular protein and organelle transport in peripheral neuropathies, and a platform of selective HDACs 1 and 2 inhibitors that have potential to treat major blood diseases such as sickle cell disease, β-thalassemia and leukemia, and cognitive dysfunction in neurological disorders. www.regenacy.com