– USA, CA – Amarantus Bioscience Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: AMBS), a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of novel diagnostics and therapeutics related to neurodegeneration and apoptosis, today announced the appointment of David A. Lowe, PhD to its Board of Directors.
Dr. Lowe comes to Amarantus with over 35 years of experience in central nervous system (CNS) drug discovery and development within the biopharmaceutical industry, where he has served in senior roles with various major biopharmaceutical companies, as well as emerging biotechnology companies. Concurrently, Dr. Lowe’s advisory firm, NeuroAssets Sarl, which has development expertise within the areas of neurology, endocrinology and ophthalmology, will be overseeing the translational development of MANF through first-in-man clinical studies, as well as advising on the development of the LymPro Test(R) blood diagnostic for Alzheimer’s disease, PhenoGuard Protein Discovery Engine and potential additions to the Amarantus portfolio.
“We believe we have scored a major coup in adding Dr. Lowe’s tremendous expertise and deep industry connections to the team at Amarantus,” said Gerald E. Commissiong, President & CEO of Amarantus. “With this critical addition to our Board of Directors, and the appointment of NeuroAssets to oversee the reprioritization and translational development of MANF, we have a great deal of confidence that we are putting our therapeutic program in the hands of a skilled and experienced team, capable of unlocking the true value of our lead therapeutic asset through judicious product development, as well as properly positioning MANF with major pharmaceutical companies and Wall Street analysts within the competitive landscape.”
About Dr David Lowe
Dr. Lowe is President & CEO of NeuroAssets, Sarl, a Swiss-based neuroscience-focused consulting firm, providing advisory services to pharmaceutical, venture capital and biotechnology companies throughout the world. Dr. Lowe previously served as the Chief Scientific Officer of Psychogenics, Inc. and before that as Director and Chief Scientific Officer of Memory Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company pursuing innovative treatments for Alzheimer’s and Schizophrenia. Prior to Memory Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Lowe served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at Fidelity Biosciences Group, Fidelity Investments in Boston, MA, an investment firm focused on the healthcare industry. He also served as President, CEO and Director of Envivo Pharmaceuticals, a Fidelity-funded pharmaceutical company pursuing new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease now in Phase 3 development. Dr. Lowe also served as Vice-President and Therapeutic Area Head, Central Nervous System, at Roche Pharmaceuticals, Vice President & Global Therapeutic Area Head of Central Nervous System Research at Bayer AG., and Head of CNS Biology and Deputy Head of CNS Research at Sandoz Ltd (now Novartis).
“It has become clear with the number and quality of peer-reviewed publications over the last two years that MANF plays an emerging and significant role in human biology, giving rise to various therapeutic development opportunities in the CNS and beyond,” said David A. Lowe, PhD, Amarantus’ newly appointed member of the Board of Directors.
“Going forward, we intend to complete the process of reprioritizing the MANF pipeline, with a strong focus on orphan indications. I believe there is a significant opportunity to develop MANF in an orphan indication, and thereafter pursue a label-expanding exercise to address the various medical conditions MANF may ultimately end up treating. We continue to believe that Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a very attractive therapeutic application for MANF given the data produced to date. However, orphan indications such as Retinitis Pigmentosa present a tremendous opportunity to speed the time to market for MANF, thereby increasing its net present value at the same time as facilitating success in PD and other indications that have more complicated regulatory pathways. I am very excited with the opportunity to take on a formal role with Amarantus at this time as the Company has made significant corporate progress over the last year and is poised for significant growth as we move forward.” he added.
Dr. Lowe received his PhD in neurobiology from the University of Leeds, UK.
About NeuroAssets
NeuroAssets’ mission is to enhance and mature the medical and financial value of novel preclinical and clinical-stage drugs and devices for treating or diagnosing diseases of the nervous system (“neuro assets”). The Company provides strategic guidance and operational management to existing companies with such assets, or helps in the creation of start-ups to develop assets in the neuro field. Where necessary, NeuroAssets connects neuroscience projects with financing opportunities.
To achieve these goals NeuroAssets uses its own broad scientific R&D experience, expertise and wide international networks in the pharma, biotech, academic, business and financial worlds. NeuroAssets performs technology evaluations, R&D project analysis and planning, management of preclinical and clinical CROs, and patenting. It advises its clients on drug discovery and development projects through to clinical trials, working with a global network of consultants having industry expertise in the required specialties such as pharmacology, chemistry, preclinical and clinical development, regulatory affairs, patenting etc.
Through its connections with venture capitalists, financial institutions, and private individuals, NeuroAssets matches client companies and their projects with investors, with the aim of financial exits such as an asset license, sale, or company acquisition.
About Amarantus
Amarantus is a development-stage biotechnology company focused on developing certain biologics surrounding the intellectual property and proprietary technologies it owns to treat and/or diagnose Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Traumatic Brain Injury, and other human diseases. The Company has an exclusive worldwide license to the Lymphocyte Proliferation test (“LymPro Test(R)”) for Alzheimer’s disease and owns the intellectual property rights to the therapeutic protein Mesencephalic-Astrocyte-derived Neurotrophic Factor (“MANF”) and is developing MANF-based products as treatments for various protein folding-related medical conditions. The Company also is a Founding Member of the Coalition for Concussion Treatment (#C4CT), in collaboration with Brewer Sports International raising awareness of new products in development for concussions and traumatic brain injury. The Company also owns intellectual property for the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease (“NuroPro”) and the discovery of neurotrophic factors (“PhenoGuard”). Amarantus operations are located at Janssen Labs @QB3 in San Francisco, CA.
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