SAN CARLOS, Calif.– CuraSen Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing oral, rapid onset, small molecule drugs to treat psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases, announced today that it has appointed Kathleen Sereda Glaub, MBA, formerly executive chair, as chief executive officer. Dr. Anthony Ford will move to the role of president and chief scientific officer, and continue to lead research and development. Patrick Enright, managing director of Longitude Capital, will become chair of the board.
Along with these executive changes, the company announced clinical program updates for its drug candidates that are each designed to restore adrenergic stimulus that declines with age or disease.
- CuraSen’s most recent development candidate is CuraAX (CST-3056), an alpha-1A adrenoceptor (α1A-AR) agonist being developed as a treatment for neurogenic orthostatic hypotension (nOH). The company is planning to submit an investigational new drug (IND) application this quarter. A significant orphan indication affecting approximately 120,000-150,000 patients in the U.S., nOH is a dysfunction in the autonomic nervous system common in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and related diseases that causes sudden drops in blood pressure upon standing. This can lead to debilitating dizziness, weakness, cognitive decline and dangerous falls. CuraAX is a selective, CNS-penetrant, α1A-AR agonist designed to provide cognitive benefit as well as control harmful blood pressure deviations.
- CuraCN (formerly known as CST-103/CST-107), a beta2 adrenoceptor (β2-AR) agonist combination, is targeted for a Phase 2b study in major depressive disorder in adults 65 and older, many of whom also suffer from cognitive decline. These plans are based on the company’s previous Phase 2 clinical study in patients that revealed compelling evidence of anti-depressant efficacy and improvements in cognition tests.
- CuraXN (formerly known as CST-2032/CST-107), a second β2-AR agonist combination, is in development for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) to address both cognitive symptoms and disease progression.
All three drug candidates work by restoring adrenergic function that declines with age and, in particular, is lost early in neurodegenerative diseases such as AD & PD. CuraSen’s development candidates have strong potential to improve cognitive function and mood, in addition to addressing specific aspects of disease pathobiology.
“We are thrilled to have Ms. Glaub assume the role of chief executive officer as CuraSen seeks to capitalize on the company’s adrenergic platform and clinical data to develop a broad pipeline of drugs for psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. These include opportunities for a significant, fast-to-market, orphan opportunity in neurogenic orthostatic hypotension,” said Mr. Enright, board chair. “CuraSen will benefit from the collective and complementary executive experience of both Ms. Glaub and Dr. Ford, both co-founders of the company.”
Ms. Glaub brings more than 30 years of experience in biopharmaceutical corporate development, strategy, financing and company-building. She serves on the board of directors of IO Biotech, and previously served on the boards of Codexis, Aligos Pharmaceuticals and Escient Pharmaceuticals. Ms. Glaub was previously chief executive officer of Afferent Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by Merck in 2016 for $1.25 billion. Under her leadership, the company advanced gefapixant to Phase 3 readiness for the treatment of chronic cough and raised $80 million in additional private funding for Afferent. Previously, she served as president of Plexxikon, and helped develop two FDA-approved drugs, Zelboraf® for metastatic melanoma and Turalio® for tenosynovial giant cell tumor (TGCT). She led Plexxikon’s business and financing strategy, negotiated multimillion-dollar partnerships, and led the sale of the company to Daiichi Sankyo for nearly $1 billion. She previously held positions as senior vice president and chief financial officer of Cell Genesys, treasurer of Genentech, and various finance and treasury roles with Intel Corporation.
Ms. Glaub received her BA from the University of California, Berkeley, and her MBA from Northwestern University.
“CuraSen’s expertise in adrenergic pharmacology, chemistry and clinical development has led to the discovery of three promising drug candidates focused on some of the most debilitating and common neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases affecting patients and their families. Our adrenergic target mechanisms are already validated by approved drugs in a range of indications, and we have confirmed the ability to develop CNS-penetrant compounds with a unique approach to safety,” said Glaub. “Given the strong and rapid-onset efficacy signals pointing to an anti-depressant effect in our past studies and our understanding of adrenergic deficits in older adults, we believe there is a unique opportunity to address depression in these patients with CuraCN. With CuraXN, we hope to deliver a transformational treatment for Alzheimer’s disease with our holistic approach to restoring brain functionality and health. Lastly, with CuraAX, we believe we can offer major advantages over current treatments for nOH, including durability of efficacy and cognitive benefit, dosing convenience and improved safety.”
