Alzheon, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on
brain health, memory and aging, announced today that David Nikodem,
Ph.D., has joined its Board of Directors. Dr. Nikodem is a senior
representative of the global healthcare-focused investment firm Ally
Bridge Group.
“David brings a wealth of public markets experience, and I am delighted
to welcome him to our Board. Adding an influential global healthcare
investment group, like Ally Bridge, to our investor base represents an
important milestone for Alzheon and will help us rapidly progress
ALZ-801, one of only a handful of innovative drug candidates with the
potential to reach Alzheimer’s disease patients in the next few years,”
said Martin Tolar, M.D., Ph.D., Founder, President and Chief Executive
Officer of Alzheon. “We are committed to establishing Alzheon as a
leader in the development of new treatments for neurodegenerative
diseases, beginning with the compelling opportunity to advance ALZ-801
in Alzheimer’s disease, while also pursuing other neuropsychiatric
indications for ALZ-801 and other promising candidates in our portfolio.”
Alzheon’s lead clinical program, ALZ-801, is a novel small molecule
inhibitor of neurotoxicity and amyloid aggregation with potential as a
first-in-class therapy for a genetically defined population of patients
with or at high risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheon plans to initiate
a potential pivotal clinical trial of ALZ-801 in late 2015.
Dr. Nikodem adds to the substantial breadth of accomplished drug
development and industry leadership represented on Alzheon’s Board of
Directors, which includes Menghis Bairu, M.D., Franklin Berger, Franz
Hefti, Ph.D., Scott Minick, Jean-Pierre Sommadossi, Ph.D., and Dr. Tolar.
“Alzheon has made a significant progress in a short time advancing
ALZ-801 to a confirmatory clinical study in Alzheimer’s disease and
offering the prospect of a transformational treatment to patients with
Alzheimer’s disease in the near future,” commented Dr. Nikodem. “We have
strong confidence in the track record of the Board of Directors, the
high caliber management team, and the rigorous science and clinical data
that supports the ALZ-801 program. We particularly like the focus on the
ApoE4 genetic biomarker to target a high-risk Alzheimer’s disease
subpopulation, which we believe considerably improves the prospects for
clinical success.”
Dr. Nikodem plays an active role in Ally Bridge Group’s portfolio
companies and serves on the Board of Directors of Cold Genesys, Inc. For
nearly 15 years, he has been dedicated to healthcare investing on the
senior level at prominent firms. Most recently, from 2010 to 2013, Dr.
Nikodem served as a Portfolio Manager at Exane Asset Management in
Paris, where he managed Exane Equinox, a global healthcare investment
fund. Prior to Exane, Dr. Nikodem was a Director on the long/short
proprietary trading desk at BNP Paribas in New York, where in addition
to covering biotechnology and pharmaceutical stocks, he was responsible
for all subsectors of the healthcare markets. Dr. Nikodem began his
focus on health care investing in 2000 as a Senior Analyst specializing
in the health sector at Orbitex Management, followed by analyst roles at
Acacia Research Investment Corporation, and Blumberg Capital Management.
Dr. Nikodem started his career as a research scientist in chemistry and
biology at the National Institutes of Health and as a patent examiner at
the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Washington, DC. Dr.
Nikodem holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from
Georgetown University.
About Alzheon
Alzheon, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology
company focused on brain health, memory and aging, develops innovative
treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological and
psychiatric disorders. We pursue product candidates for which there is
evidence of both target engagement and clinical safety and efficacy, and
where new insights and development strategies can be applied. Our lead
product candidate, ALZ-801, is a small molecule inhibitor of
neurotoxicity and amyloid aggregation with potential to be a
first-in-class therapy for a genetically defined population of patients
with or at high risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheon is located in
Lexington, Massachusetts, USA. For more information, please visit www.alzheon.com.
About Ally Bridge Group
Ally Bridge Group, founded and led
by Frank Yu, is a global healthcare-focused investment platform with
bases in Hong Kong and the United States. Ally Bridge Group and its
affiliates manage over $700 million in assets in the United States,
China and Europe, and have expertise in cementing strategic partnerships
between emerging healthcare companies and industry leaders, and across
different geographies, especially between the United States and China.
Copyright Business Wire 2015