Karuna Bolsters Research and Development Team
March 13 2019 - 7:05AM
Business Wire
Karuna Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Karuna”), focused on
targeting muscarinic cholinergic receptors for the treatment of
neuropsychiatric disorders marked by psychosis and cognitive
impairment, as well as pain, today announced the appointment of
Christian (Chris) Felder, Ph.D. to vice president of discovery
research and the promotion of Giorgio Attardo, Ph.D. to vice
president of chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC) and
preclinical development.
“Chris and Giorgio are leading key aspects of our research and
development functions and contribute immensely to the further
exploration of Karuna’s lead product candidate, KarXT, for treating
psychosis and cognitive impairment in schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s
disease, as well as the further development and expansion of our
muscarinic pipeline,” said Steve Paul, M.D., chairman and chief
executive officer. “With more than 30 years of experience leading
research and drug development projects focused on novel approaches
for the treatment of psychiatric and neurological disorders, Chris
was instrumental in the early development of xanomeline at Eli
Lilly & Co. His rich neurologic and psychiatric drug discovery
experience will be valuable as we advance and expand our pipeline.
Giorgio, too, has three decades of experience heading the discovery
and development of numerous therapeutic and diagnostic drug
candidates, progressing over twenty compounds into CNS and oncology
clinical trials. We plan to leverage their combined and
complimentary expertise as we investigate additional formulations
and treatment indications for KarXT, and further expand our
pipeline by exploring other exciting muscarinic receptor targets
and molecules with unique pharmacology to best leverage their
therapeutic potential for patients.”
Dr. Felder is an expert in G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs),
especially muscarinic receptors. He began his research career as
faculty at Georgetown University, developed his neuroscience
background over 10 years at the National Institute of Mental Health
(NIMH) followed by 21 years of research and management experience
at Eli Lilly & Co. His drug discovery expertise, which has
focused primarily on muscarinic receptors, will be particularly
valuable to Karuna’s R&D efforts.
Dr. Felder received his Ph.D. in 1987 in the Department of
Biochemistry at Georgetown University School of Medicine. He joined
NIMH in Bethesda, MD as a staff fellow in 1987 and completed his
postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Nobel prize winner, Dr.
Julius Axelrod. He remained at the NIMH as head of the Unit on Cell
and Molecular Signaling where his lab focused on the molecular
mechanisms of neurotransmitter action and their role in
neuropsychiatric diseases. In 1997, he joined the Neuroscience
Division at Eli Lilly & Co. in Indianapolis, IN and has held
both research and management positions in the US and UK. Dr. Felder
is a visiting lecturer at the University of Virginia School of
Medicine, and an adjunct professor at Monash University, in
Melbourne, Australia. He has co-authored over 160 original
publications, reviews and book chapters, organized 21 scientific
symposia, mentored over 60 students and post docs, and has been
invited to speak at numerous international symposiums and
universities.
Dr. Attardo received his Ph.D. from McGill University in 1991.
His doctorate and industrial postdoctoral research at BioChem
Pharma focused on the design, synthesis and preclinical development
of novel oncolytics. He is an inventor on more than 65 patents and
patent applications and has co-authored over 40 publications and 60
conference presentations.
Dr. Attardo joined Karuna in May 2018. Prior to joining Karuna,
he was vice president at Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of
Eli Lilly & Co., where he delivered several CNS imaging agents
for exploratory clinical trials and completed the non-clinical
development of Flortaucipir, a first in class PET imaging agent for
tau. Before joining Eli Lilly & Co., Dr. Attardo held positions
of increasing responsibility in CNS and oncology as senior director
at both Chlorion Pharma and Gemin X Pharmaceuticals. His R&D
efforts at Gemin X provided two oncology drug candidates, Obatoclax
and Teglarinad, which were pivotal assets in the acquisition of
Gemin X by Cephalon. Prior to Gemin X, Dr. Attardo was associate
director of chemistry at BioChem Pharma and Shire
Pharmaceuticals.
About KarXTKarXT (Karuna-Xanomeline-Trospium),
Karuna’s lead product candidate for the treatment of psychosis in
schizophrenia, consists of xanomeline, a novel muscarinic
acetylcholine receptor agonist that has demonstrated clinical
activity in placebo-controlled human trials in schizophrenia and
Alzheimer’s disease, and trospium chloride, an FDA-approved
and well-established muscarinic receptor antagonist that has been
shown not to enter the central nervous system (CNS). KarXT is
designed to selectively target M1/M4 muscarinic receptors in the
brain while inhibiting their stimulation in peripheral tissues in
order to improve tolerability as compared to xanomeline alone.
Karuna has completed two Phase 1 clinical trials which demonstrated
a clinically meaningful reduction in side effects compared to
xanomeline and that KarXT is well tolerated in healthy volunteers.
A proprietary co-formulation of xanomeline and trospium in a single
capsule was used in the second Phase 1 clinical trial and is now
being evaluated in an ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial in patients
with schizophrenia experiencing acute psychosis. Top-line data from
this trial are anticipated by the end of 2019.
About Karuna PharmaceuticalsKaruna is a clinical-stage
drug development company targeting muscarinic cholinergic receptors
for the treatment of psychosis and cognitive impairment across
central nervous system (CNS) disorders, including schizophrenia and
Alzheimer’s disease, as well as pain. Karuna's lead product
candidate, KarXT, (Karuna-Xanomeline-Trospium) is being
evaluated in a Phase 2 clinical trial in patients with
schizophrenia experiencing acute psychosis, with top-line results
anticipated at the end of 2019. Karuna, which was founded
by PureTech Health (LSE: PRTC), has a worldwide exclusive
license for xanomeline and has a patent portfolio more broadly
covering selective muscarinic targeting enabled by the KarXT
approach. For more information, visit www.karunapharma.com.
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InvestorsAllison Mead Talbot+1
617-651-3156amt@puretechhealth.com
U.S. mediaTom Donovan+1
857-559-3397tom@tenbridgecommunications.com
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