Bright Minds Biosciences (“Bright Minds,” “BMB” or the
“Company”) (Nasdaq: DRUG) (CSE: DRUG), a biotechnology company
focused on developing novel drugs for the targeted treatment of
neuropsychiatric disorders, epilepsy, and pain, today announced the
formation of its Scientific Advisory Board (“SAB”). The Company
named the following inaugural members:
- Herbert Y. Meltzer, MD, Northwestern University;
- Karl Deisseroth, MD, PhD, Stanford University;
- Robert C. Malenka, MD, PhD, Stanford University;
- Michael P. Bogenschutz, MD, NYU Langone Health; and
- Peter Hendricks, PhD, University of Alabama.
“These five accomplished scientists bring to Bright Minds their
decades of pioneering investigative work across the spectrum of
mental health diseases. Each has garnered widespread acclaim,
having contributed significantly to the body of knowledge around
brain functioning and psychiatric illnesses. Collectively, their
scientific expertise in the field of neuropsychiatry will prove
valuable to Bright Minds as we develop our pipeline of novel
compounds. Their expertise will complement the clinical experience
of our clinical team,” stated Dr. Revati Shreeniwas, Chief Medical
Officer of Bright Minds.
“We are thrilled and honored to welcome these distinguished
scientists to our newly created Scientific Advisory Board. Each
brings a unique perspective to this important work, and together
with our talented ensemble of internal scientists, we believe we
have a world-class team to carry out our drug development goals.
The demand for new, safe and effective drugs to treat mental health
disorders has never been greater. We look forward to the SAB’s
counsel as we execute on our mission to bring psychedelic drugs
into mainstream psychiatry for the treatment of mental disorders
and addiction,” stated Ian McDonald, CEO and Co-founder of Bright
Minds Biosciences.
“This is an especially exciting time for Bright Minds, as we
continue to advance our lead program, BMB-101, toward an in-human
clinical trial. Our SAB members, with their breadth of expertise,
as well as their deep understanding of the many connections between
the indications we are exploring, will no doubt help us to create
customized solutions for a variety of medical diseases with high
unmet need,” concluded McDonald.
Herbert Y. Meltzer, MD, is Professor of
Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Pharmacology and Physiology and
Director of the Translational Neuropharmacology Program at
Northwestern University in Chicago, IL. His research interests
include: the development of novel drugs for treatment and
prevention of psychosis, depression, opioid abuse, and
age-associated cognitive impairment; behavioral and neurochemical
studies of antipsychotic, antidepressant, cognitive improving, and
anti-suicide drugs; and genetic biomarkers. Dr. Meltzer received
his BA from Cornell University, an MA in Chemistry from Harvard,
and his MD from Yale University.
Karl Deisseroth, MD, PhD, is the D.H. Chen
Professor of Bioengineering and of Psychiatry and Behavioral
Sciences at Stanford University, and Investigator of the Howard
Hughes Medical Institute. His laboratory created and developed
optogenetics, hydrogel-tissue chemistry (beginning with CLARITY),
and a broad range of enabling methods. He has employed his
technologies to discover the neural cell types and connections that
cause adaptive and maladaptive behaviors. His studies focus on
neural physiology and behavior, both in natural behaviorally
relevant neural circuit dynamics and in pathological dynamics
underlying neuropsychiatric disease symptomatology and treatment.
Dr. Deisseroth received an AB degree in Biochemical Sciences from
Harvard and earned his MD and PhD from Stanford.
Robert C. Malenka, MD, PhD, is the Pritzker
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Director of the
Nancy Pritzker Laboratory and Deputy Director of the Wu Tsai
Neurosciences Institute at Stanford University. His laboratory
conducts research on the molecular mechanisms of neural
communication, as well as the role of circuit dysfunction in brain
disorders including addiction, Alzheimer’s, autism, and depression.
After graduating from Harvard College, Dr. Malenka received an MD
and a PhD in Neuroscience from Stanford University School of
Medicine.
Michael P. Bogenschutz, MD, an acknowledged
leader in the field of psychedelic medicine, is Director, NYU
Langone Center for Psychedelic Medicine and Professor, Department
of Psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Dr. Bogenschutz’s
research interests include substance-related disorders, alcoholism,
hallucinogens, emergency services, and alcohol-related disorders.
He is actively engaged in numerous clinical trials and research
studies, including one entitled, “Leveraging Biomarkers for
Personalized Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder Comorbid With PTSD.”
In 2021, he was named Director of the newly created NYU Langone
Center for Psychedelic Medicine, which was created to support
health-focused research across the translational spectrum, from
basic science to phase III clinical trials, with three
transdisciplinary areas of focus: psychiatry, medicine, and
preclinical research. Dr. Bogenschutz received his MD from Harvard
University.
Peter Hendricks, PhD, is a Professor of Public
Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Hendricks
has more than 70 publications. His research interests cover alcohol
and drug addiction, smoking cessation, and psychedelics as
therapeutics for the treatment of psychiatric disorders, including
anxiety, depression, and addiction. He has written extensively on
classic psychedelics and microdosing. Dr. Hendricks received a BA
in Psychology from the University of Virginia and a PhD in Clinical
Psychology from the University of South Florida.
The Company also announced that Jan Torleif Pedersen, PhD, MSc,
will join its Board of Directors and that Dr. Emer Lahey, PhD, MBA,
will resign from her position on the Board of Directors, but will
remain as a consultant to Bright Minds.
Jan Torleif Pedersen, PhD, MSc, is an
innovative and highly experienced leader in drug discovery
research, with more than 25 years of expertise in neuroscience
research management. Dr. Pedersen’s academic interests include
neurodegeneration, bioinformatics, biophysics and drug discovery
R&D. He is the founder of Torleif Science ApS, a consultancy
company aimed at delivering innovation and new ideas in
neuroscience. Prior to that, Dr. Pedersen spent 20 years at
Lundbeck, a global pharmaceutical company specialized in brain
diseases, in positions of increasing responsibility, including
building its neurodegeneration/Alzheimer’s disease pipeline, and
bringing research programs to the clinic. Dr. Pedersen received an
MSc in Chemistry from DTU – Technical University of Denmark, and a
PhD in biophysics from the University of Bath.
About BMB-101
BMB-101, a 5-HT2C selective and biased agonist, has demonstrated
compelling activity in a host of in-vitro and in-vivo non-clinical
tests. Compared to Locaserin, BMB-101 exhibits strong Gq signaling
coupled with minimal Arrestin recruitment. Mechanistically,
Serotonin (5- Hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) is a monoamine
neurotransmitter widely expressed in the central nervous system,
and drugs modulating 5-HT have made a major impact in mental health
disorders. Central 5-HT systems have long been associated with the
control of ingestive behavior and the modulation of behavioral
effects of psychostimulants, opioids, alcohol and nicotine. Over
the past decade, the various 5-HT receptor subtypes have been
cloned and characterized. Results of clinical trials and animal
studies indicate that 5-HT2C up receptor agonists may have
therapeutic potential in the treatment of addiction by decreasing
the intake of opioids as well as impulsive behavior that can
escalate compulsive drug use.
About Dravet Syndrome
Dravet syndrome is an epilepsy syndrome that begins in infancy
or early childhood and can include a spectrum of symptoms ranging
from mild to severe. Children with Dravet initially show focal
(confined to one area) or generalized (throughout the brain)
convulsive seizures that start before 15 months of age (often
before age one). These initial seizures are often prolonged and
involve half of the body, with subsequent seizures that may switch
to the other side of the body. These initial seizures are
frequently provoked by exposure to increased temperatures or
temperature changes, such as getting out of a bath. Other seizure
types emerge after 12 months of age and can be quite varied. Status
epilepticus – a state of continuous seizure requiring emergency
medical care – may occur frequently in these children, particularly
in the first five years of life. Dravet syndrome affects an
estimated 1:15,700 individuals in the U.S., or 0.0064% of the
population (Wu 2015). Approximately 80-90% of those, or 1:20,900
individuals, have both an SCN1A mutation and a clinical diagnosis
of DS. This represents an estimated 0.17% of all epilepsies. As an
area of high, unmet medical need, there currently exist only three
FDA-approved medications for the treatment of DS: (1) Fintepla®
(fenfluramine), which has a black-box label; (2) Diacomit®
(stiripentol) and (3) Epidolex® (cannabidiol).
About Mental Disease
In the U.S., 1 in 4 adults experience some form of mental
disease, including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD), while 1 in 24 has a serious mental disease, and 1
in 12 has substance use disorder, with
comorbidities being common. Depression is the
single largest contributor to global disability and leads to
800,000 suicide deaths per year. Major depressive
disorder impacts 300 million people worldwide, and 100 million of
these are resistant to current treatments.
Treatment resistant depression causes higher mortality than
treatable depression and medical costs are 2 to 3 times
greater. One in 11 people will be diagnosed with
PTSD during their lifetime. Drugs to treat mental
diseases globally were worth $37 billion in 2020, and the market is
projected to grow to $59 billion by 2031.
Serotonin (5-HT) is one of the most important neurotransmitters
influencing mental health and is a target for
next-generation pharmacological treatments.
About Bright MindsBright Minds is focused on
developing novel transformative treatments for neuropsychiatric
disorders, epilepsy, and pain. Bright Minds has a portfolio of
next-generation serotonin agonists designed to target neurocircuit
abnormalities that are responsible for difficult to treat disorders
such as resistant epilepsy, treatment resistant depression, PTSD,
and pain. The Company leverages its world-class scientific and drug
development expertise to bring forward the next generation of safe
and efficacious drugs. Bright Minds’ drugs have been designed to
potentially retain the powerful therapeutic aspects of psychedelic
and other serotonergic compounds, while minimizing the side
effects, thereby creating superior drugs to first-generation
compounds, such as psilocybin.
Investor Contacts:Lisa WilsonIn-Site
Communications, Inc.489 Fifth Avenue, 29th FloorNew York, NY
10017E: lwilson@insitecony.com
Josh BlacherBright Minds Biosciences, Inc.19 Vestry StreetNew
York, NY 10013E: josh@brightmindsbio.com
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