Aristea Therapeutics Strengthens its Team with Appointments of Executive Medical Director and Two Clinical Scientists as Clinical Programs Progress

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Aristea Therapeutics (Aristea), a clinical-stage immunology focused drug development company advancing novel therapies to treat serious inflammatory diseases, today announced the appointments of three experienced drug development experts to key positions as it works to progress and expand its clinical pipeline: Himanshu Patel, D.O., as Executive Medical Director, Jennifer Barnes, Ph.D., as Senior Director, Clinical Science, and Walter Frank Eng, PharmD, as Associate Director, Clinical Science.

"The addition of Himanshu, Jennifer, and Walter Frank to our team will be instrumental in our efforts to advance our ongoing trials of RIST4721 in both our Dermatology and Rheumatology franchises. They will be significantly involved in the completion of our ongoing clinical trials in palmoplantar pustulosis, hidradenitis suppurativa, familial Mediterranean fever and Behcet's disease, and the expansion of our pipeline with additional immunology/inflammation assets," said James M. Mackay, Ph.D., President and CEO of Aristea "We couldn't be more excited to bring them on board."

Dr. Patel is a board certified rheumatologist who worked for over 6 years at Eli Lilly, in the areas of clinical development, patient safety and pharmacovigilance, and medical affairs. While in clinical development, he provided cross-functional support for many early phase molecules across dermatology, rheumatology, and gastroenterology. Dr. Patel has also supported NDAs across indications to a number of regulatory agencies including the FDA, EMA, and PMDA. He has also supported the launch of newly approved therapeutics in rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis. Prior to joining Lilly, he spent 14 years in clinical practice as a managing partner for a large private practice rheumatology clinic with involvement in clinical research, and patient care, and served as part of the teaching faculty for a university hospital. Dr. Patel completed his rheumatology fellowship at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Hanover, NH, and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin.  

"I'm very excited to be a part of the Aristea team and help bring new therapeutics to the many patients with serious unmet medical needs," noted Dr. Patel. 

Dr. Barnes' scientific expertise will help Aristea ensure the successful generation and interpretation of clinical data from ongoing trials. Dr. Barnes has global translational drug development experience in rare diseases having cardiovascular, pulmonary, and immune components. Prior to joining Aristea, she was instrumental in leading Phase 1 to Phase 3 clinical trials and securing global regulatory approval of an RNAi therapeutic for hereditary ATTR amyloidosis at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals. Before Alnylam, Dr. Barnes was Clinical Sciences lead for a program investigating a novel therapeutic to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) at Acceleron Pharma. She holds a Ph.D. in Translational Medicine (CXCR3 signaling in IL-13 mediated lung injury) from University College Dublin.

"I am delighted to join the world-class team of experts at Aristea to address the significant unmet medical needs of people living with autoimmune inflammatory diseases," commented Dr. Barnes. "This team's passionate pursuit of scientific and clinical excellence is paving the way for the development of innovative therapeutic options."

Dr. Eng brings extensive experience in clinical development, market access, medical information, and medical affairs to Aristea. He also worked on developing innovative value-based partnerships to advance new contracting/reimbursement, distribution, and healthcare delivery models. After rotating through a 2-year multidisciplinary fellowship program at Novo Nordisk, he joined Ascendis Pharma where he worked as a Senior Clinical Scientist. Dr. Eng serves on the Board of Directors for the Stevenson House, a non-profit affordable housing community for seniors. He holds a PharmD, MBA, and BA from Creighton University. 

"I am extremely excited to join an amazing team at Aristea on its mission to develop novel therapies for patients affected by autoimmune and inflammatory diseases," added Dr. Eng.

Aristea Therapeutics (Air-iss-tay-uh) is a clinical-stage immunology focused drug development company developing novel therapies to treat serious inflammatory diseases. The Aristea team is leveraging its broad industry expertise and proven success in drug development to form synergistic partnerships and build a pipeline of novel drugs. Aristea's lead program, RIST4721, is currently in Phase 2b clinical development. Aristea is headquartered in San Diego, CA.

In July 2021, Aristea announced a strategic collaboration with Arena Pharmaceuticals, to advance the clinical development of RIST4721. The agreement included an option to acquire Aristea upon the completion of the Phase 2b trial of RIST4721 in palmoplantar pustulosis (PPP) and provided a framework during the option period for the companies to jointly explore the development of treatments for additional neutrophil-mediated diseases, including hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). In March 2022, Arena Pharmaceuticals was acquired by Pfizer Inc. As such, the partnership and the option to acquire Aristea now sits with Pfizer.

To learn more, please visit www.aristeatx.com and follow us on Twitter (@Aristeatx) and LinkedIn (Aristea Therapeutics).

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SOURCE Aristea Therapeutics