RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Evecxia Therapeutics, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to realizing the therapeutic potential of serotonin synthesis amplification for the treatment of brain disorders, today announced that Joseph M. Patti, Ph.D., has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of Evecxia’s board of directors. Dr. Patti brings extensive drug development and executive leadership expertise, including serving in multiple CEO roles, and as co-founder, Chief Scientific Officer and Senior Vice President of Research & Development of Inhibitex, Inc. until its $2.5 billion acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb. Dr. Patti succeeds John J. Kaiser, who has retired but will continue to serve as a member of Evecxia’s board of directors.

“We are delighted to have Dr. Patti join Evecxia at this exciting stage of development. Joe is a seasoned drug development executive with a proven track record in leading both private and public biopharmaceutical companies and generating significant shareholder value,” said Thomas H. Aasen, independent board member of Evecxia. “We believe he has an ideal combination of experience and leadership skills to advance Evecxia to the next level of development and growth. On behalf of the entire board, I also want to thank John Kaiser for his years of dedicated service and tireless effort to position Evecxia with two differentiated, first-in-class drug candidates. We are pleased to retain John’s corporate development and strategic commercial expertise as a member of our board and look forward to his continued contributions.”

Dr. Patti has over two decades of drug development experience in the biopharmaceutical industry and has been a successful entrepreneur and scientific leader. He currently is a member of the board of directors of Armata Pharmaceuticals and served as President of JP Biotech Advisors, where he provided strategic growth, financing and drug development guidance to emerging biotechnology companies. Previously, he was President and Chief Executive Officer at AgilVax, Inc. and Aviragen Therapeutics. Prior to joining Aviragen, he co-founded Inhibitex, Inc. and served as its Chief Scientific Officer and Senior Vice President of Research & Development until it was acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb. Earlier, Dr. Patti was an Assistant Professor at Texas A&M’s Institute of Biosciences and Technology and served on the faculty at the University of Texas Health Science Center Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Dr. Patti received a B.S. in Microbiology from the University of Pittsburgh, a M.S.P.H. from the University of Miami, School of Medicine, and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Dr. Patti, President and Chief Executive Officer added: “Evecxia has established an impressive foundation with two clinical stage programs built around unique technologies that enables the therapeutic potential of 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) and serotonin synthesis amplification. I look forward to working with the Evecxia team to realize the full potential of these technologies and clinical programs to make a meaningful difference in the lives of patients suffering from disabling brain disorders.”

About Evecxia Therapeutics, Inc.

Evecxia Therapeutics is a privately funded, clinical stage pharmaceutical company, located in Research Triangle Park, NC. Evecxia’s mission is to help treat patients suffering from disabling neuropsychiatric conditions for which current therapies are inadequate and sub-optimal.

Evecxia is the first company dedicated to realizing the therapeutic potential of amplifying serotonin synthesis to treat disorders of the brain. Evecxia has two clinical stage drug candidates in development, EVX-101 is being developed as an adjunctive treatment, when first line antidepressants alone are inadequate, and EVX-301 is being developed as a rescue therapy in acute suicidal crisis. Evecxia has licensed a comprehensive portfolio of issued and pending patents on the 5-HTP slow-release/serotonin amplification method, formulations, and related technologies from Duke University, the National University of Singapore through its Duke-NUS Medical School, National University Hospital and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore).

For additional information about the Evecxia, please visit www.evecxia.com.

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