Proclara Biosciences Strengthens Leadership Team with Appointment of David Michelson, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Proclara Biosciences, a biotechnology company developing novel therapies for diseases caused by protein misfolding, today announced the appointment of David Michelson, M.D., as chief medical officer. Dr. Michelson joins Proclara from Merck Research Laboratories, where he served for over a decade as Vice President and Therapeutic Area Head with responsibility for clinical research in Neuroscience, Pain, Anesthesiology and Ophthalmology. At Proclara, Dr. Michelson will join the executive management team and be responsible for clinical development of the company’s lead programs, including NPT088, which is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1b study for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, and NPT189, which is in preclinical development for the treatment of orphan peripheral amyloidoses.

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David Michelson, M.D., Chief Medical Officer (Photo: Business Wire)

“I am delighted to welcome David to Proclara. He is a seasoned leader, with deep research, clinical and regulatory expertise, including significant experience in neurology,” said Suzanne Bruhn, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Proclara. “In particular, David’s extraordinary track record guiding innovative early-stage programs through clinical development will prove invaluable to Proclara, and we look forward to his contributions as we progress our pipeline of disease-modifying GAIM-based therapies for both neurodegenerative and orphan indications.”

Dr. Michelson joins Proclara from Merck Research Laboratories, where he oversaw clinical development of both early and late phase programs, including MK-8931, Merck’s BACE inhibitor for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, and led the successful NDA submissions of tafluprost, suvorexant, and sugammadex. Prior to joining Merck, Dr. Michelson held multiple roles at Eli Lilly and Company, including executive medical director of Eli Lilly’s early phase Neuroscience Therapeutic Area, where he oversaw the company’s clinical development programs for novel drugs intended for psychiatric, neurologic and pain/migraine indications. Before joining Eli Lilly, Dr. Michelson served as a member of the clinical neuroendocrinology branch of the National Institute of Mental Health and as a faculty member at Yale University. Dr. Michelson received his B.A. in English from Wesleyan University. Following a period serving as a teacher in the Peace Corps, he received his M.D. from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. He completed his internship and residency and a chief residency in psychiatry at Yale University.

“Proclara’s GAIM-based technology platform is unique in targeting multiple misfolded protein aggregates, and offers tremendous promise to transform the treatment paradigm for patients with age-related neurodegenerative diseases and orphan amyloidoses,” said Dr. Michelson. “I am very excited to join Proclara at this crucial time in the company’s growth, and look forward to guiding efforts to bring NPT088 and NPT189 through the next stages of development, with the ultimate goal of bringing this potentially transformative new class of medicines to patients in need.”

About Proclara Biosciences

Proclara Biosciences is a biotechnology company advancing product candidates developed based on its proprietary GAIM technology, which is capable of simultaneously targeting multiple toxic misfolded proteins. The broad applicability of the GAIM technology enables the company to target multiple protein misfolding diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases and orphan systemic amyloidoses. Proclara has developed a pipeline of drug candidates that use GAIM to target the common amyloid protein conformation, dissociating and preventing the formation of misfolded protein assemblies, and blocking the cell-to-cell transmission of toxic aggregates. The company’s lead program NPT088 is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1b trial for Alzheimer’s disease.

For more information, please visit proclarabio.com.

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