Company Announcement – APIE Therapeutics, a preclinical biotechnology company developing a pipeline of therapeutics by targeting the apelin receptor (APJ), announced the appointment of Diane K. Jorkasky, M.D. FACP to the company’s board of directors. Dr. Jorkasky is an expert on clinical development from early stage research through commercialization. She joins a five-member board comprised of senior industry executives with expertise in venture finance, clinical development and medical affairs, who provide counsel to the APIE Therapeutics management team.
Esther M. Alegría, Ph.D., founder and CEO of APIE Therapeutics, stated, “Diane’s broad experience leading clinical research and drug development efforts during her career as a practitioner and in pharmaceuticals has afforded her a high degree of expertise that adds value to our board of directors. Her deep understanding of renal and fibrotic diseases are particularly important as we advance our pipeline of candidates towards the clinic.”
Dr. Jorkasky currently serves as an expert consultant for NDA Partners, a life sciences management consulting and contract development organization, and as a board member for several biotechnology companies. Earlier in her career, Dr. Jorkasky served as chief medical officer of Complexa Inc., Endo Pharmaceuticals and Aileron Therapeutics, before which she was vice president of global clinical research operations at Pfizer. Dr. Jorkasky received her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania and is board certified in internal medicine, nephrology and clinical pharmacology. She is a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow and has been on the faculties of the UCSF, Yale University, the University of Pennsylvania and Uniformed Service of Health Sciences Medical Schools.
Dr. Jorkasky joins a board comprised of senior biopharma and healthcare executives, including Maureen O’Connor, who has experience in healthcare venture finance; Seth Hetherington, M.D., who has held senior drug development positions at Reviral, Genocea Biosciences, Icagen and Inhibitex; Peter Johnson, M.D., CEO at Cell X Technologies and cofounder of MedSurgPI, a clinical development and commercialization service providers; and Vinay Tannan, Ph.D., director of RTI International’s commercialization group.
Dr. Alegria concluded, “Together with our scientific advisors, our board of directors has been instrumental in helping APIE Therapeutics hone our development plans and company strategy. With their counsel, we plan to complete preclinical work on APT-101, our most advanced candidate.”
About APIE Therapeutics
APIE Therapeutics is a preclinical stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering the development of a portfolio of small-molecule therapeutic drugs that target the apelinergic signaling pathway to repair and regenerate, post injury, the vasculature niche, which is associated precursor of many chronic disease’s pathophysiology. APIE Therapeutics licensed a portfolio of over 800 compounds from RTI International, a well-known nonprofit research institute and inventors of commercial drugs such as Taxol®, Camptothecin®, EllaOne® and Esmya®.
The company’s lead candidate, APT-101, is undergoing preclinical testing for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a chronic lung disease characterized by a progressive and irreversible decline in lung function. APT101 is also undergoing preclinical testing for the treatment of renal disfunction diseases and scleroderma.
