CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- APRINOIA Therapeutics (“APRINOIA”), a global clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics and precision diagnostics for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's Disease (“AD”), Parkinson’s Disease (“PD”), and certain rare dementia and movement disorders, announced today that its Board of Directors has appointed Mark S. Shearman, Ph.D. as Chief Executive Officer. Ming-Kuei Jang, Ph.D., the Founder and Chairman of the Board of APRINOIA, who had led the company as CEO since its inception, has now also assumed the role of President of APRINOIA’s Asia operations.  

Dr. Shearman, who holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience, has extensive experience in pharmaceutical research, drug development and strategic partnerships. Prior to APRINOIA, he held executive leadership positions at Editas Medicine, Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation, Merck KGaA and Merck & Co., and has served as Chair of APRINOIA’s Scientific Advisory Board since 2015. “It is a great honor to assume the post of CEO of APRINOIA. Having been involved with APRINOIA since its inception and having witnessed the tremendous progress in the development of potentially first-in-class precision diagnostics and therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases, it is exciting to join such an exceptional team. Being part of a new chapter in the company’s history, to advance its diagnostic and therapeutic products to market and provide hope to patients with serious diseases of the brain, for which today, there exists no effective therapy, is a privilege,” said Dr. Shearman.

“On behalf of the APRINOIA Board of Directors, we are delighted to appoint a leader of Mark’s caliber and experience to lead the Company as CEO, to lead APRINOIA to achieve our mission and guide APRINOIA through the next phase of growth and expansion. APRINOIA’s vision remains the same, to help individuals worldwide who are impacted by neurodegenerative diseases through the development of innovative products that redefine treatment possibilities,” said Dr. Jang. “Mark has domain expertise, experience in drug discovery and development, as well as proven abilities to drive growth, and successful strategic planning and execution,” Dr. Jang added.

In addition to Mark S. Shearman, Ph.D., APRINOIA has assembled a strong leadership team to drive growth of the company, which includes Brad Navia, M.D., Ph.D., as Chief Medical Officer, Brian Achenbach as Chief Financial Officer, Lana Gladstein, J.D., as Group General Counsel and interim Chief Operations Officer, and an extended management team, including Paul Tempest, Ph.D., as Head of Medicinal Chemistry, Lili Zhang, Ph.D., as Head of Preclinical Development, Masaomi Miyamoto, Ph.D., as Japan Site Head, Dorothy Yen, M.D., Ph.D., as China Site Head, and Matthew Chan, as Hong Kong Site Head.

APRINOIA is focusing on tauopathies and synucleinopathies, that affect approximately 50 million and 10 million people worldwide, respectively. Collectively, they account for most cases of dementia and movement disorders, resulting in devastating emotional and socio-economic consequences, including prolonged hospitalizations, nursing home placement and death. APRINOIA received an Orphan Drug Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”) in 2017 for APN-1607 (INN: florzolotau (18F)) as a diagnostic agent for Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (“PSP”) and plans to file an IND with the FDA in the fourth quarter of 2023 to launch a single Phase 3 global trial for APN-1607 in PSP. APRINOIA also has a Phase 2 program in the United States and, through a collaboration, a Phase 3 program in mainland China for the diagnosis of AD. APRINOIA’s APN-1607 PET tracer has been validated in more than 3,000 patients. On the therapeutics front, APRINOIA is evaluating the safety of APN-mAb005 in healthy volunteers in a Phase 1 clinical trial and is optimizing its protein degrader candidates for tau and a-synuclein toward IND-enabling preclinical studies.

About APRINOIA

APRINOIA Therapeutics Inc., is a global clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, headquartered in Cambridge, MA, developing novel therapeutics and precision diagnostics for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

APRINOIA Investor Contact

Matt Hughes
mhughes@allelecommunications.com