Yaqrit strengthens board and senior management ahead of multi-prong clinical push in advanced liver disease
February 21 2025 - 4:00AM
Yaqrit, a late clinical-stage clinical company developing
lifesaving treatments for advanced liver diseases, announced today
the appointment of a series of key senior board and management team
positions as part of the implementation of its clinical development
and commercialization strategy.
“I am delighted to announce the appointment of these senior
personnel to the Yaqrit team as the company advances its late-stage
pharma and medtech assets,” said Troels Jordansen, Chief
Executive Officer of Yaqrit. “Our goal is to develop each
of our assets into an effective treatment within advanced liver
disease. With these appointments Yaqrit bolsters corporate
functions while also retaining focus on each of its distinct
products to deliver the clinical product that patients need.”
“Tauhid, Darren, and Sarah show the changing face of Yaqrit,”
added Rajiv Jalan, Yaqrit’s Founder and Chief Medical
Officer. “Their deep international experience, know-how
and networks across US, Asia and European pharma and medtech will
be crucial in moving Yaqrit’s assets through the clinical and
commercial process.”
As a member of Yaqrit’s board, Tauhid Ali, Ph.D., brings a
wealth of experience and connections in project and company
building. At Takeda, he served as Head of Search and Translational
Science (Rare Diseases) and was the founding head of
spin-out-creating TAKceleratorTM. Previously, he contributed to
asset-building vehicles such as Cambrian Biopharma and co-founded
Oak Hill Bio. “I am thrilled to join Yaqrit’s board at this time,”
said Tauhid Ali. “The company has assembled a team
that can turn proven technology into treatments. This is a pivotal
moment for Yaqrit.”
As VP Amalive, Darren Rubin will head Yaqrit’s subsidiary taking
its recently-acquired phase 3-ready asset, ornithine phenylacetate
through development and commercial stages. With a strong background
in product development, regulatory approvals and orphan drugs,
Darren will also head Innovation Strategy for the company.
Sarah Hubar-Fisher will be Yaqrit’s VP of Business Development
with particular responsibility for the two medical device assets
entering registrational trials in 2025. Her 20 years at Johnson
& Johnson/Janssen spanned executive and management positions,
culminating in her role as Head of Strategic Finance, Global Public
Health.
Contact Company
Troels Jordansen, CEO
Email: Troels@Yaqrit.com
Tel: +31 6 1834 5326
Contact Investors
Mary-Ann Chang
Email: Mary-Ann@Yaqrit.com
Tel: +44 7483 284 853
About Yaqrit
Yaqrit is a clinical-stage company discovering and developing
innovative treatments for patients with advanced liver disease at
high risk of hospitalization and death. Yaqrit’s pipeline includes
three novel therapeutics at phase 2-3 of development and two
medical devices providing acute and chronic treatments for advanced
cirrhosis and acute-on-chronic liver failure where there is an
urgent need for more effective treatments. More information is
available at www.Yaqrit.com
About Decompensated Cirrhosis
In over 10 million patients worldwide per year, liver cirrhosis
progresses from an asymptomatic (compensated) form to the
decompensated form at which point the liver can no longer undertake
its usual functions. As a result, levels of ammonia in the blood
can increase and have a toxic impact on the brain, causing hepatic
encephalopathy. Patients with decompensated cirrhosis also become
highly susceptible to bacterial infections because of immune
dysfunction. Multiple organ failure becomes more common. These
factors lead to increased morbidity with median survival falling
from more than 12 years for compensated cirrhosis to about two
years for decompensated cirrhosis.
About Hepatic Encephalopathy
Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a potentially reversible
neurological dysfunction associated with excess ammonia in the
blood. As many as 40% of decompensated cirrhosis patients are
at risk of developing hepatic encephalopathy, with approximately
200,000 patients hospitalized in the US every year with acute
episodes. The recurrence of hepatic encephalopathy is high: a
second episode will follow the initial acute event within a year in
40-50% of patients.