Tetra Discovery Partners Appoints Richard Erwin as Vice President, Clinical Operations

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Jan. 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Tetra Discovery Partners today announced the appointment of Richard M. Erwin as Vice President, Clinical Operations. He joins the company from Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, where he was Executive Director, Clinical Project Management.

"Richard joins Tetra Discovery Partners with over 25 years of experience in global clinical research planning and execution, and has supported a string of successful growth-stage clinical operation build-outs and development partnerships," said Mark E. Gurney, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Tetra Discovery Partners. "We welcome him to the senior management team and look forward to working with him to advance BPN14770 into clinical trials in patients with Alzheimer's disease later this year."

Prior to his recent work with Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Richard oversaw the global phase 3 development program of VaxChora™, a single dose cholera vaccine developed by Silicon Valley's PaxVax, which received FDA approval under Priority Review in June of 2016. Other past experience includes product development team leadership for a global Phase 3 Alzheimer's program at Neurocrine Biosciences; a clinical innovation joint venture with Eli Lilly & Co and Quintiles; work across Africa enhancing clinical capacity infrastructure; and clinical operations leadership at early biotech startups including Cytheris, British Biotech, and Neurocrine Biosciences. Richard started his career with Amgen, where he was a Clinical Research Associate (CRA) for the oncology blockbuster, Neupogen™. Mr. Erwin earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

About BPN14770

BPN14770 is a novel therapeutic agent that selectively inhibits phosphodiesterase-4D (PDE4D).  PDE4D works through the PKA‐CREB pathway to enhance synaptic action of the brain neurons involved in memory and cognition. This unique mechanism of action has the potential to improve cognitive and memory function in devastating disorders including Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and learning/developmental disabilities such as Fragile X syndrome.

About Tetra Discovery Partners

Tetra Discovery Partners is a clinical stage biotechnology company developing a portfolio of therapeutic products that will bring clarity of thought to people suffering from Alzheimer's disease and other brain disorders. Tetra uses structure-guided drug design to discover mechanistically novel, allosteric inhibitors of phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4), an enzyme family that plays key roles in memory formation, learning, neuroinflammation, and traumatic brain injury. Tetra was a recipient of an NIH Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Program cooperative research agreement, and also receives major funding from the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute of Mental Health through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. Tetra Discovery Partners is headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan. For more information, please visit the company's website at http://www.tetradiscovery.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in a Tetra Discovery Partners stock offering. There will not be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offering, sale, or solicitation would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

Statements made in this press release that look forward in time or that express beliefs, expectations or hopes regarding future occurrences or anticipated outcomes or benefits are forward-looking statements. A number of risks and uncertainties, such as risks related to product development and commercialization efforts, results of clinical trials, ultimate clinical outcomes, and benefit of Tetra Discovery Partners' products to patients, market, and physician acceptance of Tetra Discovery Partners' products, intellectual property protection, and competitive product offerings, could cause actual events to differ from the expectations indicated in these forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to put any undue reliance on any forward-looking statement. This press release is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to purchase any particular securities.  Any such offer or solicitation will be made only pursuant to definitive legal agreements prepared specifically for such purpose. Tetra Discovery Partners does not assume any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new events or information, future otherwise.

Contact:

Mark Gurney, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer
Tetra Discovery Partners
[email protected]

For Media
Joan Kureczka, Kureczka/Martin Associates 
[email protected] 
(415) 821-2413

SOURCE Tetra Discovery Partners