Scholar Rock Announces Appointment of George Nomikos, M.D., Ph.D., as Vice President, Head of Medical Research, Muscle Franch...
September 05 2019 - 6:30AM
Scholar Rock Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: SRRK), a clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of serious
diseases in which protein growth factors play a fundamental role,
today announced the appointment of George G. Nomikos, M.D., Ph.D.,
as Vice President, Head of Medical Research, Muscle
Franchise. Dr. Nomikos is a physician-scientist with 35 years
of academic and industry experience in neuroscience,
neuropharmacology, and central nervous system therapeutics.
He has led a number of global drug development programs,
ranging from preclinical studies to pivotal clinical trials and
post-marketing requirements. His clinical work contributed to
the approval of an antidepressant, vortioxetine, and the acceptance
of vortioxetine label updates in the U.S. and European Union.
At Scholar Rock, Dr. Nomikos will be the medical lead for the
SRK-015 program in Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) as well as future
clinical programs in the muscle franchise.
“We are thrilled to welcome George as we continue to expand the
breadth of expertise to develop multiple product candidates for the
treatment of a broad range of serious disorders,” said Yung Chyung,
M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Scholar Rock. “George’s
extensive neurology drug development experience makes him an ideal
medical lead to shape the SRK-015 program, particularly as we
progress the Phase 2 TOPAZ trial in patients with SMA and further
our relationships with researchers, physicians, and patient
communities.”
“It is a privilege to apply my experiences both as a scientist
and a physician to lead the SRK-015 development program during this
pivotal time, with a number of clinical read-outs over the next
couple of years,” said Dr. Nomikos. “I look forward to
working with the highly dedicated team at Scholar Rock to develop
SRK-015 and other important therapies as we strive to meaningfully
improve the lives of patients with unmet medical needs.”
Dr. Nomikos joins Scholar Rock from Biogen Inc., where he served
as Senior Medical Director, Global Medical Lead for the BIIB054
clinical program for Parkinson’s disease. Prior to Biogen, he
was Senior Medical Director at Sage Therapeutics, leading the Phase
1 and 2 clinical trials for SAGE-217 in movement and mood
disorders. Before joining Sage, Dr. Nomikos held various
senior scientific positons at Takeda Pharmaceuticals Company Ltd.,
Astellas Pharma, Inc., Amgen, Inc., and Eli Lilly and Company,
amongst other companies. Prior to the transition to industry,
Dr. Nomikos was a Docent (Associate Professor) with teaching and
research responsibilities at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.
Dr. Nomikos received his M.D. from the University of Athens and a
Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the Department of Psychiatry, University
of British Columbia.
About SRK-015 SRK-015 is a selective
inhibitor of the activation of myostatin and is an investigational
product candidate for the treatment of patients with spinal
muscular atrophy (SMA). Myostatin, a member of the TGF-beta
superfamily of growth factors, is expressed primarily by skeletal
muscle cells and the absence of its gene is associated with an
increase in muscle mass and strength in multiple animal
species. Scholar Rock believes the inhibition of the
activation of myostatin with SRK-015 may promote a clinically
meaningful increase in muscle mass and strength. A Phase 2
clinical trial in patients with Type 2 and Type 3 SMA is
ongoing. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has
granted Orphan Drug Designation (ODD), and the European Commission
(EC) has granted Orphan Medicinal Product Designation, to SRK-015
for the treatment of SMA. The effectiveness and safety of
SRK-015 have not been established and SRK-015 has not been approved
for any use by the FDA or any other regulatory agency.
About Scholar Rock Scholar Rock is a
clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery
and development of innovative medicines for the treatment of
serious diseases in which signaling by protein growth factors plays
a fundamental role. Scholar Rock is creating a
pipeline of novel product candidates with the potential to
transform the lives of patients suffering from a wide range of
serious diseases, including neuromuscular disorders, cancer,
fibrosis and anemia. Scholar Rock’s newly elucidated
understanding of the molecular mechanisms of growth factor
activation enabled it to develop a proprietary
platform for the discovery and development of monoclonal
antibodies that locally and selectively target these signaling
proteins at the cellular level. By developing product
candidates that act in the disease microenvironment, the Company
intends to avoid the historical challenges associated with
inhibiting growth factors for therapeutic effect. Scholar
Rock believes its focus on biologically validated growth factors
may facilitate a more efficient development path. For more
information, please visit www.ScholarRock.com or
follow Scholar Rock on Twitter (@ScholarRock) and
LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/scholar-rock/).
Scholar Rock® is a registered trademark of Scholar Rock,
Inc.
Forward-Looking Statements This press release
contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but
not limited to, statements regarding the ability of new executives
to influence Scholar Rock’s progress, Scholar Rock’s ability to
develop its pipeline, and Scholar Rock’s growth expectations. The
use of words such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “expect,”
“plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “project,” “intend,”
“future,” “potential,” or “continue,” and other similar expressions
are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. All such
forward-looking statements are based on management's current
expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks
and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such
forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include
those risks more fully discussed in the section entitled "Risk
Factors" in Scholar Rock’s Annual Report on Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended June 30, 2019, as well as discussions of
potential risks, uncertainties, and other important factors in
Scholar Rock’s subsequent filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements represent
Scholar Rock’s views only as of today and should not be relied upon
as representing its views as of any subsequent date. All
information in this press release is as of the date of the release,
and Scholar Rock undertakes no duty to update this
information unless required by law.
Scholar Rock Contact: Investors/Media Catherine
Hu chu@scholarrock.com 917-601-1649
Media Contact: The Yates Network Kathryn Morris
kathryn@theyatesnetwork.com 914-204-6412
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