BOSTON, July 10, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AZTherapies, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutics to extend brain health, today announced the hiring of Jay Mohr as Chief Operating Officer, Chief Business Officer, and Head of Commercial Development. A seasoned biopharma executive and strategist, Mr. Mohr brings more than 25 years of industry experience to AZTherapies, where he is heading commercial and business development of the company’s lead program, ALZT-OP1, a Phase 3 clinical candidate for the treatment of early Alzheimer’s disease, as well as leading the company’s broader strategic planning for its neuroinflammation pipeline.
“We are fortunate to have someone with Jay’s talents joining our senior leadership team at this key inflection point, when we are evolving from a science and innovation-driven company to one focused on regulatory filings and commercialization,” said David R. Elmaleh, Ph.D., Founder, CEO, and Chairman of AZTherapies. “I believe his diverse leadership, entrepreneurial, and industry experience is an ideal match for us, bringing depth and breadth of expertise across all aspects of our business, including strategic planning, corporate partnerships, and product commercialization, and having created significant shareholder value to both emerging biotech and large pharma organizations.”
Mr. Mohr comes to AZTherapies from Locust Walk Partners, where he was a co-founder and Managing Director and continues on as Partner Emeritus. While there, Mr. Mohr participated in more than 20 transactions valued at more than $1.0 billion. Previous to Locust Walk, co-founder and CEO of Gloucester Pharmaceuticals (now Celgene), where he successfully secured a license for Gloucester’s lead compound, Istodax™ (romidepsin), a novel HDAC inhibitor. During his tenure as President and CBO at Variagenics, Mr. Mohr played a key role in the sale of the company and he also closed Variagenics’ first multi-year cancer pharmacogenomics and molecular diagnostics collaboration with Novartis in support of Gleevec®. Mr. Mohr has also served in executive commercial positions at Serono (now EMD Serono), and at Schering-Plough (now Merck), where he directed and executed the day-to-day marketing strategy of several blockbuster brands including Rebif® for multiple sclerosis, and Claritin® and Nasonex® for allergic rhinitis. Mr. Mohr holds an MBA in Health Care Management and Marketing from The Wharton School and a BA in Economics from Vanderbilt University.
Mr. Mohr commented on his appointment: “It’s an exciting time to be joining AZTherapies. With increasing acceptance that new approaches to fight Alzheimer’s disease are needed, I believe the company’s late-stage program could be a real breakthrough for early stage patients. I also believe that focusing on neuroinflammation as a root cause of neurodegenerative diseases is an idea whose time has come and I look forward to helping the company execute on its commercial, business development, and portfolio management strategies.”
About AZTherapies
AZTherapies is an advanced clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies that aim to fundamentally change neurodegenerative disease progression, extending normal cognition and function and improving quality of life in the aging population. Advancing a growing pipeline of candidates to treat patients with few therapeutic options, our lead program, ALZT-OP1, is built on a multi-modal approach that recognizes neuroinflammation as a root cause of serious neurodegeneration and seeks to stop or slow the progression of disease. Our Phase 3 COGNITE trial in early Alzheimer’s disease is close to fully enrolled and expected to complete in late 2020. Following our lead program, we are advancing candidates for the treatment of post-ischemic stroke cognitive impairment, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and other indications. AZTherapies is a private company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. To learn more, please visit www.aztherapies.com.
Contact:
Jay Mohr
Chief Operating and Business Officer
(617) 318-3422
jmohr@aztherapies.com