Yumanity Therapeutics Appoints Neuroscience Veteran, Brigitte Robertson, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer

Prior to her career in the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Robertson practiced medicine as a board-certified adult, child and adolescent psychiatrist and held a faculty position at Duke University.

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Nov. 18, 2019 13:30 UTC

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Yumanity Therapeutics, a clinical stage company focused on protecting the vitality of the mind by discovering and developing transformative brain-penetrating small molecule drugs to treat neurodegenerative diseases, today announced the appointment of Brigitte Robertson, M.D., as chief medical officer. Dr. Robertson brings nearly two decades of clinical and regulatory experience in neurology and psychiatry to her role, most recently serving as the therapeutic area head of neuroscience global clinical development at Takeda (formerly Shire). Prior to her career in the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Robertson practiced medicine as a board-certified adult, child and adolescent psychiatrist and held a faculty position at Duke University.

“As Yumanity Therapeutics has now reached the clinical stage, Dr. Robertson’s experience driving the global development of multiple industry-leading neurology clinical programs will help ensure expert efficiency in our pursuit of next-generation therapeutic solutions to combat challenging neurodegenerative diseases,” said Richard Peters, M.D., Ph.D., chief executive officer of Yumanity Therapeutics. “As a former practicing physician, she will also bring the important perspective of the patient experience to our development process. We are pleased to have her join our passionate team.”

“Joining Yumanity Therapeutics represents an exciting and critical opportunity to improve the treatment landscape for a number of historically complex and difficult-to-treat neurodegenerative conditions,” said Dr. Robertson. “I was inspired by the science this company was founded on and encouraged by the overall potential of its propriety platform to overcome the toxicity associated with protein misfolding. I look forward to partnering with our team of talented scientists and researchers to help generate successful clinical outcomes and improve the lives of patients.”

About Brigitte Robertson, M.D.
Prior to her role at Yumanity, Dr. Robertson spent over eight years at Takeda (formerly Shire). While at Shire, as a therapeutic area head, she successfully led a number of global development teams and was responsible for the disease area strategy and execution of Shire’s neuropsychiatry portfolio, including programs in status epilepticus, Dravet syndrome and ADHD (e.g. Buccolam, Carbetrol, Vyvanse, Mydayis and Intuniv). Before joining Shire, Dr. Robertson held senior roles at Sunovion Pharmaceuticals in clinical development and experimental medicine, and at GlaxoSmithKline in the Center for Excellence in Drug Discovery. Dr. Robertson is the author of numerous referenced articles in leading peer-reviewed journals and has served as a member on several consortia to advance biomarker development and novel trial endpoints. Throughout her career, Dr. Robertson has worked extensively across common indications and orphan diseases, covering both early and late-stage initiatives in neurology and psychiatry.

Prior to her career in industry, Dr. Robertson held faculty positions at Duke University, CCP Children’s Hospital in San Diego, and served in the military. She earned her medical degree from the University of Health Sciences Georgia and later completed her residency training in psychiatry at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. She subsequently also completed a fellowship in child psychiatry and a post-doctoral neuro-psychiatry and neuroimaging research fellowship at the University of California in San Diego.

About Yumanity Therapeutics
Yumanity Therapeutics is transforming drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases caused by protein misfolding. Formed in 2014 by renowned biotech industry leader, Tony Coles, M.D., and protein folding science pioneer, Susan Lindquist, Ph.D., the company is focused on discovering disease-modifying therapies for patients with Parkinson’s disease and related disorders, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and Alzheimer’s disease. Leveraging its proprietary discovery engine, Yumanity Therapeutics’ innovative new approach to drug discovery and development concentrates on reversing the cellular phenotypes and disease pathologies caused by protein misfolding. For more information, please visit yumanity.com.

Contacts

Media Contact:
Kate Contreras
W2O pure
kcontreras@w2ogroup.com

Investor Relations Contact:
Caroline Corner, Ph.D.
Westwicke
caroline.corner@westwicke.com

Source: Yumanity Therapeutics

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