BOSTON, Mass., Aug. 07, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AZTherapies, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutics to extend brain health, today announced that investor, former biopharmaceutical executive, and philanthropist George D. Behrakis has joined the company’s Board of Directors.
David R. Elmaleh, Ph.D., Founder, CEO, and Chairman of AZTherapies commented on the appointment: “We are pleased to welcome George to our Board. We believe that his leadership and broad biopharma business acumen will be of great value to us as we advance towards commercialization of our lead program in Alzheimer’s disease and expand our clinical pipeline of candidates targeting neuroinflammation to slow or halt the progression of neurodegenerative diseases.”
A former pharmacist and pharmaceutical innovator, Mr. Behrakis is well known in the industry for his contributions to the successful development and commercial launch of Tylenol® while at Johnson & Johnson. Mr. Behrakis continued to distinguish himself in the pharmaceutical industry as founder and CEO of two successful companies - Dooner Laboratories and Muro Pharmaceuticals - where he led the research, regulatory approval, commercialization, marketing, and global manufacturing of asthma, allergy, ophthalmic nasal, and oral inhaled prescription therapies. Mr. Behrakis sold the ophthalmic line to Bausch & Lomb, sold Donner to a predecessor of Sanofi Aventis, and Muro to Dugussa Asta Medica, generating significant shareholder value and providing him the opportunity to focus on philanthropy. His large-scale philanthropic efforts helped fund the creation of Northeastern University’s College of Health Sciences, the Behrakis Health Sciences Center, and launch a critical national anti-smoking initiative in Greece in collaboration with Harvard University. Mr. Behrakis is the former Vice Chair of the Board of Northeastern University, and former Board member of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Tufts Medical Center. He currently serves as a board member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and is a “guardian” of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston; the George D. and Margo Behrakis Art of the Ancient World Wing is so named because of the family’s long and deep relationship with the museum.
“AZTherapies is increasingly being recognized for its innovative approach to Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases,” said Mr. Behrakis. “As an investor in the company, I am especially excited to be joining the board at this time and look forward to working with my fellow board members and the company’s executive management team to help realize their mission and make meaningful progress for patients.”
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 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.
Media Contact:
Jennifer LaVin
207-360-0473
jlavin@aztherapies.com
Investor Contact:
Courtney Turiano
212-698-8687
courtney.turiano@sternir.com