CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cadent Therapeutics, a company focused on the development of breakthrough therapies to improve the lives of patients with movement and neurological disorders, today announced that Jodie Morrison has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and has also joined Cadent’s Board of Directors. Ms. Morrison brings to Cadent more than 20 years of executive leadership and therapeutics development experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. Michael Curtis, Ph.D., who has served as the Company’s President and CEO, will remain as President and Head of Research and Development at Cadent.
“Jodie has a deep background in executive, operational, and clinical development leadership, having successfully guided the growth and development of emerging biopharmaceutical companies across multiple therapeutic areas,” said Peter Barrett, Ph.D., Partner at Atlas Venture and Chairman of the Board. “Jodie’s appointment comes at an important period of growth for Cadent, fueled by a successful Series B financing, progress in the clinic for our lead program in two progressive neurological conditions, and the advancement of a second program toward the clinic. We look forward to benefiting from her leadership as Cadent continues to build value through its mission of improving the lives of people with movement and cognitive disorders.”
“Cadent has taken an innovative approach to creating first-in-class therapies to treat unmet needs in movement and cognitive disorders,” said Ms. Morrison. “Backed by top tier investors and a license deal with Novartis, a global leader in neuroscience, the Company is well positioned to deliver meaningful impact for patients with essential tremor, spinocerebellar ataxia and schizophrenia. I look forward to working with the Cadent team as we deliver on the promise of our very exciting and diverse pipeline.”
Ms. Morrison most recently served as interim Chief Executive Officer at Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. Previously she served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Tokai Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Prior to being appointed President and Chief Executive Officer at Tokai, Ms. Morrison held other senior positions with the company, including Chief Operating Officer, Head of Clinical Affairs and Program Operations, and Vice President of Clinical Affairs and Program Operations. Prior to joining Tokai, Ms. Morrison held roles in clinical operations and medical affairs at Dyax Corporation, Curis, Inc., and Diacrin, Inc. Ms. Morrison received a B.A. in neuroscience from Mount Holyoke College, her clinical research certification from Boston University School of Medicine, and her business training through the Greater Boston Executive Program at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Ms. Morrison currently sits on the Board of Directors for Akebia Therapeutics (AKBA) and Aileron Therapeutics (ALRN).
About Cadent Therapeutics
Cadent Therapeutics is creating breakthrough therapies for the treatment of movement disorders and cognitive impairment. The company combines target specificity, patient selection, drug design and optimization, and novel quantitative endpoints to create first-in-class molecules to treat movement and cognitive disorders. Cadent Therapeutics is rapidly advancing its pipeline of positive allosteric modulators to treat spinocerebellar ataxia, essential tremor and schizophrenia. The company has an exclusive license and collaboration agreement with Novartis to develop a negative allosteric modulator, now in Phase 1 clinical studies for the treatment of treatment resistant depression. Investors include Atlas Venture, Cowen Healthcare Investments, Qiming Venture Partners, Access Industries, Clal Biotechnology Industries, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research and Slater Technology Fund. For more information, please visit cadenttx.com.