CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Emalex Biosciences Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapies for patients with neurological and psychiatric conditions, today announced the appointment of Atul Mahableshwarkar, MD, as Senior Vice President of Drug Development. In this capacity, Dr. Mahableshwarkar will provide leadership to the Clinical Affairs, Pharmacovigilance, Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance divisions at Emalex.
“We are pleased to have Dr. Mahableshwarkar join the Emalex team as we advance the clinical development of ecopipam, an investigational drug, for the potential treatment of pediatric patients with Tourette syndrome and adult patients with childhood onset fluency disorder,” said Dr. Timothy Cunniff, an advisor to Emalex Biosciences and Executive Vice President of Research & Development at Paragon Biosciences, a life science innovator that invests in, builds, and advises bioscience companies. “Dr. Mahableshwarkar is highly respected in the biopharmaceutical industry and has supported the successful development and registration of numerous drugs for central nervous system disorders in his career.”
Dr. Mahableshwarkar is a board-certified adult psychiatrist who was formerly an Associate Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Chicago Medical School of Rosalind Franklin University. Previously, he also led mental health services at the North Chicago VA Medical Center, providing care to patients with psychiatric disorders.
Dr. Mahableshwarkar possesses nearly two decades of drug development experience. Prior to joining Emalex, he served as Vice President of Clinical Development at Revance Therapeutics and BlackThorn Therapeutics; Senior Medical Director at Takeda Development Center Americas; as well as Director of Clinical Development at GlaxoSmithKline and Janssen Pharmaceuticals.
Dr. Mahableshwarkar is a graduate of the Armed Forces Medical College in India and completed a residency in adult psychiatry and a fellowship in neuropsychiatry at the Chicago Medical School of Rosalind Franklin University. He has designed and conducted global clinical trials in Alzheimer’s disease, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, major depression, Parkinson’s Disease and schizophrenia and led the development program resulting in the approval of a novel antidepressant. His interests are in clinical trial methodology and he is a founding member of the International Society for CNS Clinical Trials and Methodology (ISCTM) and the CNS Summit. He also served as a member of the scientific and program committees of both societies.
“I look forward to applying my experiences in drug development to help develop ecopipam and other innovative treatments that benefit patients with debilitating medical conditions,” said Dr. Mahableshwarkar. “I am excited to join Emalex; I share the company’s commitment to improving patients’ lives by providing first-in-class treatments to those with limited or no treatment options.”
About Emalex Biosciences
Emalex Biosciences is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of new and novel treatments for patients with central nervous system disorders who have limited or no treatment options. Emalex is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. For more information, visit: EmalexBiosciences.com.
About Ecopipam
Ecopipam is a first-in-class investigational drug that selectively blocks the actions of the neurotransmitter dopamine at its receptor. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system, and its receptors have been classified into two “families” based on their genetic structure: “D1” (including subtypes D1 and D5) and “D2” (including subtypes D2, D3 and D4). Ecopipam is a selective antagonist of the D1-receptor family and is being investigated in patients with Tourette syndrome (TS). In contrast, currently approved therapies for the treatment of TS act at D2 dopamine receptors. Ecopipam is also being investigated in patients with childhood onset fluency disorders (stuttering). In clinical trials involving over 2,500 patients, adverse events associated with the drug primarily affect the central nervous system (e.g., sedation, insomnia, psychiatric changes) and gastrointestinal system (e.g., nausea and vomiting).