SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Autobahn Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on restoring hope for people affected by CNS disorders, today announced that the company has strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of Gudarz Davar, M.D., as executive vice president, chief medical officer and the promotion of Chan Beals, M.D., Ph.D., to senior vice president, chief of translational medicine.
“We are thrilled to welcome Gudarz to the Autobahn team. As an accomplished drug developer, Gudarz brings a wealth of experience in neurological drug development and has successfully led multiple clinical programs to approval,” said Kevin Finney, chief executive officer of Autobahn. “Chan’s guidance and contributions to the company have been instrumental in propelling Autobahn to where we are today, and we look forward to his continued leadership in his new role. With the planned initiation of our Phase 1 clinical trial for ABX-002 in the fourth quarter of this year, Gudarz and Chan’s combined expertise will be invaluable as we transition to a clinical-stage company and work to bring novel treatments to patients in need.”
“I’m incredibly excited to join Autobahn at this stage in their development as they pioneer their novel approach for the treatment of debilitating CNS disorders,” said Dr. Davar. “Autobahn’s innovative approach and brain-targeting chemistry, along with their highly promising preclinical data, offer the potential to transform the treatment of CNS diseases. I’m honored to join this team and look forward to partnering with them to advance our programs.”
Dr. Davar joins Autobahn from ACADIA Pharmaceuticals where he was executive vice president and head of research and development. Prior to ACADIA he was with Eli Lilly where he was as vice president, head of global neurology clinical development, the senior leadership role responsible for the global development of all neuroscience and core Lilly biomedicines assets through clinical testing and life of the product. Under his leadership were the recent global approvals of Emgality® for migraine prevention and U.S. approval for the treatment of cluster headache, as well as the U.S. approval of REYVOW® as a first-in-class, novel, acute treatment for migraine. Prior to Eli Lilly, he served in senior leadership roles in neurology and clinical development at Allergan, Biogen and Amgen. Notably, at Biogen he led the development of PLEGRIDY® for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis and all development lifecycle activities for AVONEX® for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. Dr. Davar received his medical degree from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He completed his neurology residency at University of Michigan Hospitals, Ann Arbor, Michigan and is board certified in neurology.
Prior to his promotion to senior vice president and chief of translational medicine, Dr. Beals served as senior vice president, translational medicine at Autobahn Therapeutics. Prior to Autobahn, Dr. Beals was chief medical officer at Abide Therapeutics from 2016 until its sale to H. Lundbeck A/S in 2019. Prior to Abide, Dr. Beals was an entrepreneur in residence at Merck Research Laboratories Ventures, and earlier was vice president and head of clinical pharmacology and experimental therapeutics at Merck & Co. During his time at Merck, Dr. Beals led the introduction of 30 molecules into early clinical development, of which 11 molecules entered late-stage clinical development. Dr. Beals earned his M.D. and Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Washington School of Medicine and his B.S. in chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He completed a residency in pediatrics and fellowship in pediatric rheumatology at the University of California, San Francisco.
About Autobahn Therapeutics
Autobahn Therapeutics is focused on restoring hope for people affected by CNS disorders. Autobahn is leveraging its brain-targeting chemistry platform to unlock new therapeutic opportunities through precision tuning of the central exposure of its molecules. The company’s pipeline is led by ABX-002, a thyroid hormone receptor beta agonist prodrug for the treatment of adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN), a rare genetic disorder. Autobahn Therapeutics is based in San Diego. For more information, visit www.autobahntx.com.
