United Neuroscience Names Peter Powchik, M.D, Executive Vice President of Research & Development

DUBLIN, Dec. 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- United Neuroscience (UNS), a clinical-stage biotech company pioneering a new class of medicine to treat and prevent brain disorders, today announced the appointment of Peter Powchik, M.D., to the newly created position of Executive Vice President of Research & Development effective Jan. 1, 2019.

Dr. Powchik, a highly accomplished scientist, physician and drug development executive with decades of biotech and Pharma experience, including almost 12 years at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., will report to UNS's Chief Executive Officer, Mei Mei Hu. He will be responsible for the leadership and expansion of UNS's global development operations as the company advances multiple vaccine programs into clinical studies and then registration. In addition, Dr. Powchik will serve as an advisor to other United Biomedical Inc. (UBI) companies.

"Peter brings to UNS proven experience in building teams and guiding exciting products through the clinical and regulatory process," said Hu. "He will help us on many levels throughout our company and within our sister companies that are under the UBI umbrella. For UNS, our focus is on advancing our Alzheimer's and Parkinson's programs through the clinic while completing IND-enabling research for other pipeline projects. Peter is well positioned to drive forward our programs."    

Dr. Powchik added, "The opportunity to transform how we treat and prevent diseases by developing new vaccines that leverage a proven technology platform is what attracted me to UNS. Today we have the most advanced Alzheimer's vaccine in clinical development worldwide. Top-line results from the Phase 2a study of UB-311 are expected soon. Beyond this, we see opportunities with our diverse pipeline of vaccine candidates to make a difference in the lives of Parkinson's patients and those suffering from migraine and other debilitating conditions."

Most recently, Dr. Powchik was working as a development consultant to biopharmaceutical companies. Before this, he was the Senior Vice President of Clinical Development at Regeneron, where he built an international clinical drug development organization and oversaw the company's first five drug approvals, including KEVZARRA^®, DUPIXENT^®, PRALUENT^®, EYLEA^® and ARCALYST^®. Earlier in his career, Dr. Powchik was Chief Medical Officer of Chugai Pharma USA and held senior development positions with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp., Sepracor Inc. and Pfizer Inc. Also, Dr. Powchik was a faculty member at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. He earned his M.D. degree from the New York University School of Medicine and a B.A. in chemistry, with honors, from SUNY College at Purchase.

Dr. Ajay Verma, Chief Medical Officer of United Neuroscience during the last years, has transitioned to serve as a senior advisor of the company.  "Ajay is a brilliant neurologist who has devoted his career to the advancement of neurotherapeutics and neurodiagnostics, and we are greatly appreciative of his tremendous contributions to UNS that have delivered great value," Hu continued. "We look forward to his continued contributions as a trusted advisor."

The move allows Dr. Verma to stay connected with the progress of UNS. "I've enjoyed being CMO at UNS and am excited about transitioning to a different role advising the Board of Directors," said Verma.

About United Neuroscience

United Neuroscience (UNS) is a clinical-stage biotech company dedicated to the development of best-in-class immunotherapeutics for the brain. A global company headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with operations in Taiwan and the United States, UNS was founded to address the social and economic burden of Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases and seeks to rapidly advance candidates into and through clinical trials with the goal of delivering breakthrough treatments to patients. For more information please visit www.unitedneuroscience.com.

Follow UNS on Twitter at https://twitter.com/UNSTechBio and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/unitedneuroscience.

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SOURCE United Neuroscience

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http://www.unitedneuroscience.com