13
August 2024
PureTech Health plc
PureTech Founded Entity
Seaport Therapeutics Appoints David Wheadon, M.D., to its Board of
Directors
Prominent pharmaceutical
leader from AstraZeneca, Abbott, GlaxoSmithKline and Eli Lilly,
brings extensive regulatory affairs and clinical
development expertise to Seaport
Board
PureTech Health plc
(Nasdaq: PRTC, LSE: PRTC) ("PureTech" or the
"Company"), a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company, noted that
its Founded Entity, Seaport
Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical
company that is advancing novel neuropsychiatric medicines with a
proven strategy and team, today announced the appointment of David
Wheadon, M.D., to its Board of Directors. Dr. Wheadon is a
physician and psychiatrist with more than three decades of
experience in regulatory affairs, clinical strategy, and global
health policy at multinational companies across the pharmaceutical
industry.
The full text of the announcement
from Seaport is as follows:
Seaport Therapeutics Appoints
David Wheadon, M.D., to its Board of Directors
Prominent pharmaceutical
leader from AstraZeneca, Abbott, GlaxoSmithKline and Eli Lilly,
brings extensive regulatory affairs and clinical
development expertise to Seaport
Board
BOSTON, August 13, 2024 - Seaport
Therapeutics, a clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company that is advancing novel neuropsychiatric
medicines with a proven strategy and team, today announced the
appointment of David Wheadon, M.D., to its Board of Directors. Dr.
Wheadon is a physician and psychiatrist with more than three
decades of experience in regulatory affairs, clinical strategy, and
global health policy at multinational companies across the
pharmaceutical industry.
"It is our pleasure to welcome David
Wheadon to our Board of Directors," said Daphne Zohar, Founder and
Chief Executive Officer at Seaport. "David brings extensive
regulatory expertise, and a successful background in the
development and approval of several important neuropsychiatric
medicines which will benefit Seaport as we advance our
clinical-stage pipeline of therapeutics for the treatment of
depression, anxiety and other neuropsychiatric
disorders."
Dr. Wheadon is a distinguished
pharmaceutical leader who most recently served as Senior Vice
President, Global Regulatory Affairs, Patient Safety and Quality
Assurance at AstraZeneca. While at AstraZeneca, he drove regulatory
strategy for the development and approval of the company's product
portfolio and oversaw the global regulatory affairs, patient safety
and quality assurance organization. Dr. Wheadon also served as a
member of the company's Global Medicines Development Leadership
team and Late-Stage Product Committee, which was responsible for
the progression of AstraZeneca's late-stage portfolio through
clinical development, regulatory approvals and market
access.
"I'm excited to join the talented
members of Seaport's Board and executive team with deep experience
and a proven track record of developing neuropsychiatric drugs,"
said Dr. Wheadon. "Seaport has a promising
pipeline of novel antidepressants and
anxiolytics, and I look forward to
being a part of the journey of delivering these important new
treatments to the millions of patients suffering from devastating
and debilitating mental health conditions, including depression and
anxiety."
Dr. Wheadon held previous leadership
positions at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of
America (PhRMA), the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation as well
as senior regulatory and clinical development leader roles at
Abbott and GlaxoSmithKline. He also served on the Board of
Directors at Karuna Therapeutics until its acquisition by Bristol
Myers Squibb in March 2024. He began his career as a clinical
research physician in neuroscience at Eli Lilly. Dr. Wheadon earned
an A.B. from Harvard College and an M.D. from Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine. His residency was in psychiatry at
the Tufts-New England Medical Center. He is a member of the
American Academy of Pharmaceutical Physicians and
the American Psychiatric Association.
"I had the privilege of working with
David on the Karuna board, so I know how incredibly fortunate we
are to gain his unparalleled level of expertise and industry
perspective at Seaport," said Steve Paul, M.D., Founder and Chair
of the Board of Directors at Seaport. "He has an accomplished
career and an astute understanding of the regulatory and clinical
landscape, which will make him a valuable addition to Seaport as we
continue to advance our novel neuropsychiatric medicines through
clinical development."
About Seaport Therapeutics
Seaport Therapeutics is a
clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company advancing the development
of novel neuropsychiatric medicines in areas of high unmet patient
needs. The Company has a proven strategy of advancing clinically
validated mechanisms previously held back by limitations that are
overcome with its proprietary GlyphTM technology
platform. All the therapeutic candidates in its pipeline of first
and best-in-class medicines are based on the Glyph platform,
which is uniquely designed to enable oral
bioavailability, bypass first-pass metabolism and reduce
hepatotoxicity and other side effects. Seaport is led by an experienced team that invented and
advanced important neuropsychiatric medicines and are guided by an
extensive network of renowned scientists, clinicians and key
opinion leaders. For more information, please visit
www.seaporttx.com.
About PureTech Health
PureTech is a clinical-stage
biotherapeutics company dedicated to giving life to new classes of
medicine to change the lives of patients with devastating diseases.
The Company has created a broad and deep pipeline through its
experienced research and development team and its extensive network
of scientists, clinicians and industry leaders that is being
advanced both internally and through its Founded Entities.
PureTech's R&D engine has resulted in the development of 29
therapeutics and therapeutic candidates, including two that have
received both U.S. FDA clearance and European marketing
authorization and a third (KarXT) that has been filed for FDA
approval. A number of these programs are being advanced by PureTech
or its Founded Entities in various indications and stages of
clinical development, including registration enabling studies. All
of the underlying programs and platforms that resulted in this
pipeline of therapeutic candidates were initially identified or
discovered and then advanced by the PureTech team through key
validation points.
For more information,
visit www.puretechhealth.com or
connect with us on X (formerly Twitter) @puretechh.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release contains
statements that are or may be forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
All statements contained in this press release that do not relate
to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking
statements, including without limitation those related to Seaport's
development plans for its pipeline of therapeutics for the
treatment of depression, anxiety and other neuropsychiatric
disorders, potential benefits to patients and our future prospects,
developments and strategies. The forward-looking statements are
based on current expectations and are subject to known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause
actual results, performance and achievements to differ materially
from current expectations, including, but not limited to, those
risks, uncertainties and other important factors described under
the caption "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for
the year ended December 31, 2023, filed with the SEC and in our
other regulatory filings. These forward-looking statements are
based on assumptions regarding the present and future business
strategies of the Company and the environment in which it will
operate in the future. Each forward-looking statement speaks only
as at the date of this press release. Except as required by law and
regulatory requirements, we disclaim any obligation to update or
revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
Contact:
PureTech
Public Relations
publicrelations@puretechhealth.com
Investor Relations
IR@puretechhealth.com
UK/EU Media
Ben Atwell, Rob Winder
+44 (0) 20 3727 1000
puretech@fticonsulting.com
US
Media
Nichole Bobbyn
+1 774 278 8273
nichole@tenbridgecommunications.com