AzurRx BioPharma Announces Formation of Scientific Advisory Board

• Globally recognized experts in cystic fibrosis and chronic pancreatitis care and research to support AzurRx in advancing the clinical development of MS1819
  

NEW YORK, Oct. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  AzurRx BioPharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZRX) (“AzurRx” or the “Company”), a company specializing in the development of non-systemic, recombinant therapies for gastrointestinal diseases, today announced the formation of a Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) including three of the leading global experts in exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) in patients with cystic fibrosis and chronic pancreatitis.

“We are thrilled to have this distinguished group of scientific leaders helping to guide our research and clinical development efforts as we advance our MS1819 program for the treatment of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency associated with cystic fibrosis and chronic pancreatitis patients,” said James Sapirstein, Chief Executive Officer of AzurRx.

Dr. James Pennington, Chief Medical Officer of AzurRx added, “We are proud to have attracted this illustrious team of experts to our SAB. Their deep expertise and insights will be invaluable as we continue progressing our clinical program in exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) from Phase 2 to a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial.”

The AzurRx SAB members will include:

Michael Konstan, M.D. is Vice Dean for Translational Research and the Gertrude Lee Chandler Tucker Professor of Pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and the Austin Ricci Chair in Pediatric Pulmonary Care and Research at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, OH. Dr. Konstan has spent his entire professional career in the care and research of people with cystic fibrosis (CF). He has led numerous national and international clinical trials of potentially new therapies for CF, and his seminal work has led to several therapies that are in use today, including the only therapy recommended in guidelines for treating the lung inflammation in CF using high doses of ibuprofen. Dr. Konstan was the first recipient of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Harry Shwachman Clinical Investigator Award, and later in his career he received the Richard C. Talamo Distinguished Clinical Achievement Award from the Foundation. He has published extensively in the medical literature with more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, nearly all related to cystic fibrosis. He has served on multiple advisory boards and committees for the CF Foundation, the NIH and the FDA, all related to advancing the treatment of CF. He currently serves on the CF Foundation’s Clinical Research Executive Committee. Dr. Konstan received his bachelor’s and medical degrees from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). After completing his internship and residency in Pediatrics at The Children’s Hospital of Buffalo, he returned to CWRU and Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital for Fellowship training in Pediatric Pulmonology.

Darwin L. Conwell, M.D. is a physician-scientist in gastroenterology specializing in pancreas disorders and currently Professor of Medicine with tenure at The Ohio State University College of Medicine where he serves as Director of the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center. He is an NIH-funded physician-scientist with over 200 peer reviewed publications. He has achieved extramural funding from the NIH-NIDDK, NCI, NIH-CATS, Harvard Digestive Disease Center, American College of Gastroenterology, ChiRhoClin, Inc., Solvay Pharmaceuticals and the National Pancreas Foundation.  He is a member of the NIDDK/NCI U01 Chronic Pancreatitis, Diabetes and Pancreas Cancer (CPDPC) Consortium, where he serves as the PI for The Ohio State Clinical Center. He also is a member of the NIDDK U01 Type 1 Diabetes Acute Pancreatitis Consortium, where he serves as a multi-PI.  Dr. Conwell is the former holder of the Charles Austin Doan Chair in Medicine and currently is the Floyd Beman Endowed Chair in Gastroenterology. Dr. Conwell is active in numerous gastrointestinal societies and is former President of The American Pancreatic Association.  He has served on several committees and boards at the American College of Gastroenterology and American Pancreatic Association. Dr. Conwell received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry with Honors from Ohio University, Medical Degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and a Master’s Degree in Clinical Research from the University of Michigan.  Dr. Conwell completed internship and residency at The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio and gastroenterology fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Dr. Conwell served as faculty at Cleveland Clinic for 15 years and started the Pancreas Clinic.  He later served on staff at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston as an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Michael Wilschanski, M.D. is Director of Pediatric Gastroenterology at Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center. He has led numerous national and international studies of potentially new therapies in CF. He is the Director of the Electrophysiology Laboratory in Hadassah where he performs in vivo and in vitro measurements of electrolyte transport which is used diagnostically and therapeutically in CF. He is the past Chairman of the European Cystic Fibrosis Society Diagnostic Network, and past Chairman of ESPGHAN (European Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition) Working Group on Cystic Fibrosis and Pancreatic Disease. He is recipient of numerous international research grant to investigate pancreatic disease in children including a collaborative study from the NIH and has published nearly 150 articles extensively on all aspects of pediatric gastroenterology. Dr Wilschanski graduated from the University of London (Royal Free Medical School) and completed his Pediatric residency at Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem. He completed his 3-year fellowship in pediatric gastroenterology at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. Dr. Wilschanski returned to Israel and worked as a senior pediatric gastroenterologist at Shaare Zedek before being appointed Director of Pediatric Gastroenterology Unit at the Hadassah University Hospitals (Ein Kerem and Mount Scopus) in 2003.

About MS1819

MS1819 is a recombinant lipase