Globally Renowned Cystic Fibrosis Expert, Dr. Eitan Kerem, Joins Eloxx Pharmaceuticals as a Senior Consultant
WALTHAM, Mass., Sept. 14, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Eloxx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (NASDAQ: ELOX) a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel therapeutics to treat cystic fibrosis and other diseases caused by nonsense mutations limiting production of functional proteins, today announced that Professor Eitan Kerem, M.D. has joined the Company as a Senior Consultant. Dr. Kerem will continue to advise on our cystic fibrosis program focusing on strategic leadership, cystic fibrosis medical safety review, and medical communications, as well as liaising with patient advocacy groups and regulatory authorities.
“We are very pleased to welcome to Eloxx someone of Dr. Kerem’s caliber and recognized expertise in cystic fibrosis as we advance our Phase 2 proof of concept clinical trial program for ELX-02 in patients with nonsense mediated cystic fibrosis, for whom a high unmet medical need exists,” said Dr. Gregory Williams, Chief Executive Officer of Eloxx Pharmaceuticals. “We believe that Dr. Kerem’s vast experience in cystic fibrosis will provide us with critical counsel as we approach a substantial value inflection point for our Company. It is our highest priority to report top line results from our Phase 2 clinical trial program as soon as feasible.”Dr. Kerem joined Eloxx on September 1st upon his retirement from Hadassah Medical Center where he most recently served as Head of Pediatrics and Professor of Pediatrics at Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School. Dr. Kerem was a board member of the European Cystic Fibrosis Society where he contributed to the development of the European Cystic Fibrosis Registry and was the President of CIPP, the Annual International Congress on Pediatric Pulmonology. Dr. Kerem was previously a member of the editorial boards of the leading journals in the field of pulmonology, “Pediatric Pulmonology”, “Chest” and the “American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine”.Dr. Kerem has been intimately involved with ELX-02 and the Eloxx team since 2015, originally working with Professor Timor Baasov at the Technion Institute to optimize ELX-02 in the early stages of its development. He is a globally renowned cystic fibrosis Key Opinion Leader and has helped guide Eloxx through the development of our clinical trial program. Dr. Kerem serves on our Cystic Fibrosis Medical Advisory Board, has been the Global Lead Investigator for our Phase 2 cystic fibrosis clinical trial program and had served as Chairman of the Safety Review Committee. About Eloxx PharmaceuticalsEloxx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel RNA-modulating drug candidates (designed to be eukaryotic ribosomal selective glycosides) that are formulated to treat rare and ultra-rare premature stop codon diseases. Premature stop codons are point mutations that disrupt protein synthesis from messenger RNA. As a consequence, patients with premature stop codon diseases have reduced or eliminated protein production from the mutation bearing allele accounting for some of the most severe phenotypes in these genetic diseases. These premature stop codons have been identified in over 1,800 rare and ultra-rare diseases. Read-through therapeutic development is focused on extending mRNA half-life and increasing protein synthesis by enabling the cytoplasmic ribosome to read through premature stop codons to produce full-length proteins. Eloxx’s lead investigational product candidate, ELX-02, is a small molecule drug candidate designed to restore production of full-length functional proteins. ELX-02 is in the early stages of clinical development focusing on cystic fibrosis. ELX-02 is an investigational drug that has not been approved by any global regulatory body. Eloxx’s preclinical candidate pool consists of a library of novel drug candidates designed to be eukaryotic ribosomal selective glycosides identified based on read-through potential. Eloxx also has preclinical programs focused on kidney diseases including autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, as well as rare ocular genetic disorders. Eloxx is headquartered in Waltham, MA, with operations in Rehovot, Israel and Morristown, NJ. For more information, please visit www.eloxxpharma.com.Forward-Looking StatementsContact:Barbara Ryan
203-274-2825barbarar@eloxxpharma.comSOURCE: Eloxx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
