NEW PROVIDENCE, NJ--(Marketwire - August 22, 2012) - Edge Therapeutics, Inc., announced today the appointment of Robert S. Langer, Ph.D., to chair its newly developed Scientific Advisory Committee. Edge Therapeutics is a clinical-stage, hospital-focused biopharmaceutical company that uses novel site-specific and sustained-release microparticle technology to develop life-saving medicines to prevent complications of ruptured brain aneurysms, subdural hematoma, subarachnoid and intracerebral hemorrhage, none of which currently have effective treatments.
“Dr. Langer’s experience and leadership in successfully guiding sustained-release drug development programs from the research stage through commercialization will bring an invaluable perspective to Edge,” said Brian A. Leuthner, President and CEO of Edge. “Edge stands to benefit greatly from his deep understanding and commitment to translating cutting-edge science into life-saving therapies as we work to fulfill our primary mission of saving lives.”
A world-renowned scientist and entrepreneur with vast experience in the healthcare, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, Dr. Langer is the David H. Koch Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is the author of more than 1,100 journal articles and the most cited engineer in history. A pioneer in drug-delivery-related inventions, his patents have been licensed or sub-licensed to over 220 companies worldwide. Dr. Langer has been named by Time magazine and CNN as one of the 100 most important people in America, and he is also a recipient of the Charles Stark Draper Prize, which is equivalent to the Nobel Prize for engineers.
“Getting involved with Edge allows me to once again focus time and attention on delivering drugs to the brain, which has been an interest and passion of mine for decades,” said Dr. Langer. “This is an exciting time at Edge as they transition into a clinical-stage company while still seeking to expand their platform of potentially life-saving therapies for the treatment of acute and critical care conditions such as ruptured brain aneurysms, subarachnoid hemorrhage, subdural hematoma, intracerebral hemorrhage and brain cancers; all of which are unsatisfactorily treated critical care conditions.”
“Dr. Langer is one of the most accomplished scientists ever in the field of drug delivery,” said R. Loch Macdonald, M.D., Ph.D., Edge co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer. “The opportunity to work with Bob to optimize and expand our pipeline of treatments for unmet critical care conditions is a great honor.”
About Edge Therapeutics
Edge Therapeutics is a clinical-stage, hospital-focused biopharmaceutical company that uses its novel site-specific and sustained-release microparticle technology platform to deliver drugs to the brain to prevent complications of subarachnoid hemorrhage, subdural hematoma and intracerebral hemorrhage, all of which currently have no effective therapies. Edge works with some of the world’s foremost scientists and critical care physicians from leading academic research centers to develop proprietary formulations of known active drugs for direct therapeutic delivery to the site of injury in the brain.
The Company’s patent-protected bio-absorbable microparticle formulations release drugs locally and consistently at therapeutic concentrations in the brain, with the objective of maximizing therapeutic activity and avoiding treatment-limiting systemic side effects seen with current treatments. Currently, oral- or i.v.-administered therapies are employed but in suboptimal concentrations due to the generation of systemic side effects. Edge’s lead products, EG-1962 (nimodipine microparticles) and EG-1964 are being developed to prevent various delayed complications after brain hemorrhage. EG-1962 is a proprietary microparticle formulation of the generic calcium channel blocker nimodipine, while EG-1964 delivers a hemostatic agent. For more information on Edge Therapeutics, Inc., please visit: www.edgetherapeutics.com
For more information contact:
Edge Therapeutics, Inc.
Brian A. Leuthner
President & CEO
800-208-EDGE
