Dr. James Summers Appointed to Mission Therapeutics’ Board of Directors
CAMBRIDGE, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 1, 2019--Mission Therapeutics (“Mission”), a drug discovery and development company focused on treating mitochondrial diseases, fibrosis and neurodegenerative disorders by selectively inhibiting deubiquitylating enzymes (DUBs), today announced the appointment of Dr. James Summers as an independent member to its Board of Directors, with immediate effect.
Dr. Summers brings over 30 years of drug discovery and pharmaceutical research management experience to Mission’s Board. His most recent position was as Vice President of Neuroscience Research at AbbVie, where he led drug discovery efforts in the treatment of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, pain, and psychiatric disorders.
Dr. Colin Goddard, Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors at Mission, said:
“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Summers to our Board of Directors. Jim has spearheaded numerous transactions for AbbVie in the area of neurological disorders, including Mission’s collaboration with AbbVie for the development of DUB inhibitors to treat Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. We believe his appointment as a Director will bring immense domain knowledge to our deliberations as a board and I look forward to working with him in his new role.”
Dr. Anker Lundemose, Chief Executive Officer at Mission, added:
“ Since the start of the AbbVie collaboration in November 2018, the Mission team has already benefited from the strength of Jim’s specialist knowledge and sector experience. We believe that he will be of tremendous value to the Company as we continue to progress our therapeutic pipeline”.
Dr. James Summers, newly appointed Non-Executive Director at Mission, also commented:
“In addition to its best-in-class DUB technology platform, Mission has researchers with a unique understanding of the science behind Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to continue to support the Company as it works towards developing new treatments that positively impact the lives of patients with these debilitating diseases.”
Prior to his role at AbbVie, Dr. Summers was Divisional Vice President of Advanced Technology with Abbott, where he managed the organisation responsible for the diverse technologies and services that enable effective drug discovery research across the company. He has established new research sites in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Shanghai, China and led the way in refocusing the research strategies of this global organisation. He has also championed multiple successful deals, collaborations and investments and advanced more than 20 compounds into clinical development.
Dr. Summers earned his Bachelor of Science degree, summa cum laude, in chemistry from Denison University and his doctorate in organic chemistry from Harvard University.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS:
About Mission Therapeutics
Mission Therapeutics is an early-stage drug development company targeting the ubiquitin pathway for the treatment of neurodegenerative disease, rare mitochondrial diseases and fibrosis. The Company has built a leading platform for the discovery and development of first-in-class, small molecule drugs that selectively target deubiquitylating enzymes (DUBs) – an emerging drug class that is attracting significant commercial interest in the area of protein homeostasis.
In November 2018, Mission Therapeutics and AbbVie entered into a collaboration in the research and preclinical development of specified DUB inhibitors for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease. Mission has strong links with key academic and research centers, including Prof. Jackson’s Cancer Research UK Laboratories at the University of Cambridge Gurdon Institute, and leading UK centres in neurodegenerative diseases. The Company is managed by a team with broad international, commercial and clinical-science experience.
In February 2016, the Company completed an $86m financing that was led by Imperial Innovations (now part of IP Group) and Woodford Patient Capital Trust and included participation from existing investors Sofinnova Partners, Roche Venture Fund, Pfizer Venture Investments and SR One. Mission Therapeutics was founded in 2011 and is based at the Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge, UK.
For more information, please visit our website, www.missiontherapeutics.com, or follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn.
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CONTACT: Mission Therapeutics Ltd
Anker Lundemose MD PhD
Chief Executive Officer
T: +44 (0) 1223 607340
Instinctif Partners
Melanie Toyne-Sewell / Eileen Paul
T: +44 (0) 20 7457 2020
KEYWORD: UNITED KINGDOM EUROPE
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HEALTH BIOTECHNOLOGY PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH SCIENCE
SOURCE: Mission Therapeutics
Copyright Business Wire 2019.
PUB: 05/01/2019 03:00 AM/DISC: 05/01/2019 03:00 AM
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190501005399/en