A NEW DIRECTION in Treating Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease and Other Neurodegenerative Conditions
About Us
Our drug attacks neurodegeneration by improving axonal transport, the information highway of the nerve cell, which has been shown to be the cause of nerve cell degeneration and ultimately death.
With an aging population, neurodegenerative diseases have become one of the world’s largest unmet medical needs. Annovis understands how the brain works and how brain cells die. Nerve cell death is the underlying cause of all neurodegenerative disease in both slow chronic and fast acute injuries to the brain.
Our Treatments
We are developing novel treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), Parkinson’s (PD) and other neurodegenerative diseases. Our lead candidate, ANVS401, simultaneously inhibits the production of multiple neurotoxic brain proteins that have been shown to impair axonal transport and lead to nerve cell death. Specifically, it inhibits the synthesis of amyloid precursor protein (APP), Tau and α-Synuclein. It is distinct from other AD drugs in development, because, unlike many other drugs that attempt to remove one toxic protein, ANVS401 inhibits the toxic proteins before they can form, and it inhibits all the major neurotoxic proteins responsible for AD and PD.
EXECUTIVES AND ADVISORS
MARIA L. MACCECCHINI, Ph. D.
Founder, President, CEO and Executive Board Member
Dr. Maccecchini founded Annovis in May 2008 to develop better therapeutics for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. Was partner and director of two angel groups, Robin Hood Ventures and MidAtlantic Angel Group; Founder and CEO of Symphony Pharmaceuticals/Annovis a biotech company that sold in 2001 to Transgenomic; General Manager of Bachem Bioscience, the US subsidiary of Bachem AG, Switzerland and Head Molecular Biology Mallinckrodt; Dr. Maccecchini did one postdoc at Caltech and one at the Roche Institute of Immunology, her PhD in biochemistry is from the Biocenter of Basel with a two-year visiting fellowship at The Rockefeller University.
JEFFREY MCGROARTY
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. McGroarty is a financial executive with experience in investor relations, working with analysts, creditors and financial institutions, planning and analysis, capital allocation, SEC communications and reporting, accounting, acquisitions and turnarounds. He is experienced in effectively managing complex projects, building professional relations and developing staff. Mr. McGroarty was previously employed as CFO of Safeguard Scientifics, Interim Controller at Cephalon, Inc., Vice President-Financial Planning and Analysis of Exide Technologies, Inc., and Senior Manager at PWC. Jeff’s MBA is from the Wharton School of Business.
CHENG FANG, PhD
VP of Research
Dr. Fang is an experienced neuroscientist with more than a decade of experience in neurodegenerative diseases, with broad scientific knowledge and hands-on experience. Prior to joining Annovis, she was a scientific solution consultant with Clarivate Analytics where she worked on cutting-edge scientific projects with top-50 pharma clients. Previously, Dr. Fang was business development manager for Coriell Institute for Medical Research and an assistant professor at Boston University, where she designed and supervised projects focused on prion diseases and AD as a research team leader.
WILLIAM MOBLEY, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Advisor
Dr. Mobley is a distinguished Professor, Department of Neurosciences, Florence Riford Chair for Alzheimer Research and Associate Dean for Neurosciences Initiatives at UC San Diego. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine. His research focuses on the neurobiology of neurotrophic factor actions/signaling and on the hypothesis that dysfunction of such signaling mechanisms contributes to neuronal dysfunction in developmental and age-related disorders of the neurosystem.
SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD (SAB)
SIDNEY STRICKLAND, Ph. D.
SAB Chairman
Dr. Strickland is Vice President and Dean for Educational Affairs and Research Professor, Patricia and John Rosenwald Laboratory of Neurobiology and Genetics at Rockefeller University. Dr. Strickland’s laboratory investigates how dysfunction of the circulatory system contributes to Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative disorders. He will serve as the Chairman of Annovis Bio’s SAB.
GREGORY PETSKO, Ph. D.
SAB Member
Dr. Petsko is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society. His research interests are directed towards understanding the biochemical bases of neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and ALS discovering treatments (especially by using structure-based drug design), that could therapeutically affect those biochemical targets, and seeing any resulting drug candidates tested in humans. He has also made key contributions to the field of protein crystallography.
RUDOLF E. TANZI, Ph.D.
SAB Member
Dr. Tanzi has published over 500 research papers and has received the highest awards in his field, including the Metropolitan Life Foundation Award, Potamkin Prize, Ronald Reagan Award, Silver Innovator Award, and many others. He was named to TIME magazine’s list of TIME100 Most Influential People in the World (2015), and received the Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award, the top national award for invention and innovation. He co-authored the popular trade books “Decoding Darkness”, New York Times bestseller, “Super Brain”, and international bestseller “Super Genes”.
JEFFREY CUMMINGS, M.D.
Chief Medical Advisor and SAB Member
Dr. Cummings completed a neurology residency and a Fellowship in Behavioral Neurology at Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts. US training was followed by a Research Fellowship in Neuropathology and Neuropsychiatry at the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases, Queen Square, London, England. Dr. Cummings was formerly Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry at UCLA, director of the Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research at UCLA and Director of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MICHAEL B. HOFFMAN
Chairman of the Board
Mr. Hoffman is the Founder and Managing Partner of Stone Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on power and renewable energy. He was Partner of Riverstone, senior managing director at the Blackstone Group and managing director at Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co. He serves as President of Northern Genesis Acquisition Corporation (II and III) and is a Trustee of The Rockefeller University.
MARIA L. MACCECCHINI, Ph. D.
Executive Board Member
Dr. Maccecchini founded Annovis in May 2008 to develop better therapeutics for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. Founder and CEO of Annovis (f.k.a. Symphony Pharmaceuticals) focused on protecting brain cells after stroke. It sold in 2001 to Transgenomic.
REID S. McCARTHY
Board Member
Mr. McCarthy is experienced in corporate financial management, operations and new venture development. He was CFO of Topaz Pharmaceuticals, Inc. until its sale in 2011 to Sanofi Pasteur. He also served as CFO of JJ Haines & Company, Inc. and provided consulting CFO services to several life sciences companies. He has been a founding executive of several venture capital-backed companies which were successfully sold.
CLAUDINE E. BRUCK, Ph. D.
Board Member
Dr. Bruck is a pharmaceutical executive and scientist with a strong entrepreneurial drive. Exhibited successes in building a therapeutic research unit de novo and leading discovery and clinical development of biological (vaccines, biopharmaceuticals) and small molecule medicines as well as an ophthalmic drug portfolio. With creativity and a strong results-focus, she is energized to challenge and lead teams. Extensive Pharmaceutical industry experience spans drug discovery and development across several therapeutic.
