WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.,--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- OLIGOMERIX, Inc., a privately held company pioneering the development of small molecule therapeutics targeting tau for rare neurodegenerative and Alzheimer’s diseases, today announced the appointment of William Erhardt, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Oligomerix, to its Board of Directors.

“As Chief Medical Officer, Bill has provided invaluable insights into our oral, lead small molecule tau-self association inhibitor program as we complete preclinical testing of the candidate by year end,” said Vic Micati, Chairman of Oligomerix. “With Bill joining the company’s Board of Directors, he will be instrumental in leading our program into clinical development with our Phase 1 trial scheduled to start early next year.”

With over 20 years in executive leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, Dr. Erhardt joined Oligomerix last year as Chief Medical Officer. Prior to joining Oligomerix, he was Senior Vice President, Head of Clinical Development & Operations at Pfizer, Inc., with responsibility for Pfizer’s clinical development operations globally and leading a team of more than 2,000 Pfizer researchers. Over his long tenure at Pfizer, Bill was responsible for oversight of several clinical development and medical affairs units across multiple therapeutic areas including Pfizer Phase I units.

“There is a critical unmet need for novel approaches to treating Alzheimer’s disease and other rare neurodegenerative disorders,” said Dr. Erhardt. “Given the recent approval of a new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, we’re excited for the potential of our small molecule inhibitor targeting tau self-association and at the possibility of offering patients a new therapeutic option.”

About Oligomerix’s Lead Program

Oligomerix’s lead candidate is an oral, small molecule inhibitor of tau self-association that targets the beginning of the tau aggregation cascade, a process thought to be important in the development of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Our lead compound, OLX-07010, has demonstrated efficacy in several animal models of neurodegeneration and, upon completion of its preclinical program in the next couple of months, will start Phase 1 clinical studies in early 2022.

About Oligomerix, Inc.

Oligomerix is an emerging biotechnology company focused on developing disease-modifying therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases characterized by aberrant tau protein ranging from rare tauopathies such as progressive supranuclear palsy and frontotemporal dementia to Alzheimer’s disease.

With a focus on oral, small molecule, tau self-association inhibitors, Oligomerix seeks to develop therapies for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias that are easy to administer and cost effective, and which are expected to significantly add to newly emerging high-cost therapeutic options such as the monoclonal antibody targeted against beta-amyloid that was recently approved by the U.S. FDA.

Oligomerix is headquartered at the Westchester Park Center in White Plains, New York and has lab facilities at the Ullmann Research Center for Health Sciences within the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Follow Oligomerix on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Oligomerix is seeking strategic partners to support the acceleration and advancement of these important programs. For more information about Oligomerix, please visit our new website at https://oligomerix.com/.

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