Martinsried, Germany — Affectis Pharmaceuticals AG today announced that Dr. Stephen Murray has been appointed as Chief Medical Officer (CMO).
“Steve brings significant relevant drug development expertise which will be valuable to us as cimicoxib advances through Phase II clinical trials,” remarked Alex Martin, Chief Executive Officer for Affectis. “We believe Steve is ideally suited to lead our efforts with the FDA this fall and we are delighted to bring him on board. His appointment marks a major milestone for the company as we shift our focus to our later stage programs.”
“I am happy to be joining Affectis at this exciting time and I look forward to working with the team to advance meaningful treatments for central nervous system diseases where there are still significant unmet medical needs,” stated Dr. Murray.
Dr. Murray has held a number of positions in the pharmaceutical industry including Chief Medical Officer at Memory Pharmaceuticals before it was sold to Roche in 2009. Prior to Memory he was with Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, most recently as Senior Medical Director, Worldwide Medical Team Leader, Schizophrenia, and Chair, Schizophrenia, Bipolar and Cognition Disease Area Leadership Team. Prior to joining Pfizer, Dr. Murray was an Associate Medical Director at Janssen Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Murray completed his clinical training in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco and was a research fellow at UCSF where his work focused on the cellular trafficking of G-protein coupled receptors. Dr. Murray received a B.S. from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, and both his M.D. and Ph.D. from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.
The Acoma Group LLC, www.acomagroup.com 203-423-9494, an executive search firm with expertise in pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device located in Connecticut conducted the search.
About Affectis Pharmaceuticals AG
Affectis Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company focused on novel concepts for the treatment of psychiatric disorders and inflammatory diseases. The company discovers and develops drugs based on pioneering findings in the fields of depression, schizophrenia, and inflammation. Affectis was a spin-out from the Max-Planck Institute of Psychiatry in 2004, and since then has successfully advanced several compounds into the company’s development pipeline. The company’s lead compound, cimicoxib, is currently completing a European Phase IIa study in depression. For further information, please visit: www.affectis.com
