Cambridge, MA, May 30, 2024 – Lysoway Therapeutics, a leading discovery-stage biotech company dedicated to developing next-generation treatments for patients with neurodegenerative diseases, today proudly announces the appointment of Valerie Cullen, PhD as Senior Vice President and Head of Research and Translational Science.

Dr. Cullen brings a wealth of cross-functional experience as a research leader, translational medicine expert and company builder and has a proven track record of success in building and translating innovative therapeutic programs.

“We are thrilled to welcome Valerie to the executive leadership team of Lysoway Therapeutics,” said Yongchang Qiu, CEO, President and Co-Founder of the company. “Valerie brings deep expertise in lysosomal biology and neurological disease and has led complex CNS drug development programs at the intersection of research, translation and clinical development. Her leadership will be invaluable to Lysoway as we build our pipeline and navigate key milestones in 2024 and beyond.”

Dr. Cullen brings almost 25 years of operational and leadership experience in research and development, with particular emphasis on drug discovery for neurodegenerative disorders. Most recently, she served as SVP of Research at Expansion Therapeutics, where she built the research group and helped raise over $80M in VC funding. Prior to that, she served as Vice President, Translation and Development at Generian Pharmaceuticals, Inc. At Lysosomal Therapeutics, Inc. Dr. Cullen was Vice President, Program and Alliance Management and acted as program lead for a clinical-stage asset in Parkinson’s Disease. She previously held roles of increasing responsibility in NeuroPhage, Aldeyra Therapeutics and Link Medicine.

Dr. Cullen earned a PhD and BSc (Hons) in pharmacology from the University of Dublin, Ireland and held postdoctoral fellowships at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London and at the Center for Neurologic Diseases, Harvard Medical School. Her work has won various accolades including the Annals of Neurology Clinical Impact Award and she has been granted numerous patents worldwide for innovative therapies for neurological diseases.

“I’m delighted to join Lysoway’s executive team at this exciting juncture, as the organization advances towards delivering new treatment options for patients with neurodegenerative diseases,” said Dr. Cullen. “I look forward to making significant and meaningful contributions towards the company’s development of novel therapeutics with the potential to highly impact patient lives.”

About Lysoway Therapeutics

Lysoway Therapeutics is a leader in lysosomal ion channel disease biology. We have developed unique technological approaches to screen and develop potent modulators of lysosomal ion channels, including TRPML1 and TMEM175. These ion channels serve as vital transducers of cellular signals and play crucial roles in maintaining cellular homeostasis, particularly within the autophagy/lysosomal pathway, which is frequently disrupted in a number of pathological conditions. Lysoway’s small molecule modulators hold immense potential for restoring autophagy/lysosomal function, offering potential treatment for neurodegenerative diseases associated with lysosomal deficiency and other rare diseases characterized by toxic accumulation of cellular wastes.

Contact Info

info@lysoway.com
www.lysoway.com

Cambridge, MA, April 2, 2024 – Lysoway Therapeutics, a leading discovery-stage biotech company dedicated to developing next-generation treatments for patients with neurodegenerative diseases, today proudly announces the appointment of Chris Adams, PhD to its board of directors. Dr. Adams brings a wealth of experience as a distinguished business leader, entrepreneur and mentor, with a proven track record of guiding biotechnology companies towards maximizing program value and realizing their full potential.

“We are thrilled to welcome Chris to the Lysoway board of directors as we advance our pipeline into clinical studies next year,” said Yongchang Qiu, CEO & President, Co-Founder of Lysoway Therapeutics. “Chris’s extensive industry expertise and strategic guidance will be invaluable to Lysoway as we bolster our team and navigate key milestones in 2024 and beyond.”

Dr. Adams is a strategic biotech executive with over three decades of broad cross-functional expertise spanning all facets of biotech operations. His impressive background includes in-depth experience with start-up operations, fundraising, M&A, business development, strategic transactions, and company building. In 2013, he co-founded Cydan, an orphan drug accelerator focused on improving the lives of patients with rare genetic diseases. Together with the Cydan team, he successfully raised over $200M and co-founded  and served on the Board of three startups: Vtesse, Imara and Tiburio. Prior to Cydan, he served as the Chief Business Officer of FoldRx Pharmaceuticals Inc., where he played a pivotal role in the development of VYNDAQEL® (tafamidis) for TTR amyloidosis, leading to its acquisition by Pfizer in 2010. Previously, he held various business development and marketing roles at  ViaCell Inc., TKT Inc. and Ciba-Geigy AG. Currently Dr. Adams serves on the Board of Directors of Alkeus Pharmaceuticals Inc., Aviceda Therapeutics Inc. and Reveal Pharmaceuticals Inc. He holds a PhD in organic chemistry and a diploma in organic chemistry and biochemistry from the University of Zurich, and an MBA from INSEAD of Fontainebleau, France.

“It is a privilege to join Lysoway’s board as the organization advances towards delivering new treatment options for patients with neurodegenerative diseases, many of whom have been significantly underserved for decades,” said Dr. Adams “I look forward to working alongside this team and advancing a promising pipeline through development and towards the market.”

About Lysoway Therapeutics

Lysoway Therapeutics is a leader in lysosomal ion channel disease biology. We have developed unique technological approaches to screen and develop potent modulators of lysosomal ion channels, including TRPML1 and TMEM175. These ion channels serve as vital transducers of cellular signals and play crucial roles in maintaining cellular homeostasis, particularly within the autophagy/lysosomal pathway, which is frequently disrupted in a number of pathological conditions. Lysoway’s small molecule modulators hold immense potential for restoring autophagy/lysosomal function, offering potential treatment for neurodegenerative diseases associated with lysosomal deficiency and other rare diseases characterized by toxic accumulation of cellular wastes.

Contact Info

info@lysoway.com
www.lysoway.com

Cambridge, MA and New York, NY, Jan. 5, 2023 – Lysoway Therapeutics, a startup biotech developing small molecule modulators of lysosomal ion channels and leader in lysosomal ion channel disease biology, announced today receiving a research grant from the Silverstein Foundation for Parkinson’s with GBA.

“We appreciate the generous support from the Silverstein Foundation, which underlines the importance of lysosomal ion channels as drug targets for Parkinson’s disease.” said Dr. Yongchang Qiu, chief executive officer of Lysoway Therapeutics. “This grant and our relationship with the Silverstein Foundation will bring us closer to the Parkinson’s disease research community and expedite our overall translational research effort. Lysoway plans to use the grant to investigate the therapeutic potential of its channel modulators in preclinical models of GBA-deficient Parkinson’s disease, particularly focusing on discovery and development of target engagement and pharmacodynamic biomarkers.”

About Lysoway Therapeutics

Lysoway Therapeutics is a leader in lysosomal ion channel disease biology. We have developed unique technological approaches to screen and develop potent modulators of lysosomal ion channels, including TRPML1 and TMEM175. These ion channels are essential transducers of cellular signals and are required to help maintain cellular homeostasis, especially the delicate balance within the autophagy/lysosomal pathway, which is often disrupted in a number of pathological conditions. Lysoway’s small molecule modulators have great potential to re-balance lysosomal function and autophagy to treat neurodegenerative diseases with lysosomal deficiency and rare diseases characterized by toxic accumulation of cellular wastes.

About The Silverstein Foundation for Parkinson’s with GBA

The Silverstein Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization focused on investing in cutting-edge therapeutic approaches for the treatment and prevention of Parkinson’s disease in glucocerebrosidase (GBA-PD) mutation carriers. The Foundation collaborates with clinicians, scientists, and biotechnology companies to accelerate research and clinical trials in an effort to rapidly bring new disease-modifying therapeutic options to patients. The Foundation has funded 39 projects across a diverse set of therapeutic approaches since its inception in 2017. The Foundation applies a unique flexible funding model including both new company formation and traditional research grants to deliver in real-time on its mission of rapidly developing novel treatments for GBA-PD patients.

Contact Info

info@lysoway.com
www.lysoway.com

info@silversteinfoundation.org
www.silversteinfoundation.org

Lysoway Therapeutics, a Cambridge, MA based startup developing small molecule modulators of lysosomal ion channels, announced today raising a total of $22m in Series A financing since founding, led by Highlight Capital, 3E Bioventures, and Oceanpine Capital. Lysoway was founded in 2020 by CEO and biotech veteran Yongchang Qiu and Professor Haoxing Xu (University of Michigan, Zhejiang University), who is leading the frontier in lysosomal biology.

“We appreciate Highlight Capital, 3E Bioventures, and Oceanpine Capital’s strong support and confidence in our therapeutic approach and experienced team,” said Yongchang Qiu, chief executive officer of Lysoway Therapeutics.  “Lysosomal deficiency has long been associated with many neurodegenerative diseases and metabolic disorders, both genetically and phenotypically. Lysosomal ion channels play key roles in the regulation of lysosome function and yet these channels have been neglected as therapeutic targets up until now.  Having developed unique technological approaches to screen and develop potent modulators of lysosomal ion channels, we see tremendous potential to apply the breadth of our scientific expertise to advance the field. We are looking forward to accelerating the development of our lysosomal ion channel modulators to bring novel and best-in-class therapies to patients”.

Professor Xu added, “The lysosome, the cell’s recycling center, can mediate the degradation of a variety of biomaterials (proteins, lipids, and membranes) into smaller building-block molecules, which will be subsequently transported out of lysosomes for reutilization or energy.  Activation of lysosomal channels by synthetic modulators, like those being developed at Lysoway, may boost lysosome function to maintain cellular health and promote cellular clearance in lysosome storage disorders.”

About Lysoway Therapeutics

Lysoway Therapeutics is a leader in lysosomal ion channel disease biology. We have developed unique technological approaches to screen and develop potent modulators of lysosomal ion channels, including TRPML1 and TMEM175. These ion channels are essential transducers of cellular signals and are required to help maintain cellular homeostasis, especially the delicate balance within the autophagy/lysosomal pathway, which is often disrupted in a number of pathological conditions. Lysoway’s small molecule modulators have great potential to re-balance autophagy/lysosomal function to treat neurodegenerative diseases with lysosomal deficiency and rare diseases characterized by toxic accumulation of cellular wastes.

About Highlight Capital

Highlight Capital is an investment company with a mission to promote technology innovations based on deep scientific and industrial insights. We focus on enabling high growth sectors such as healthcare, biotech and consumer, and we strive to create long-term value and deliver life wellness.  We wholeheartedly partner with our entrusted entrepreneurs to drive long-term value creation and to deliver sustainable return.

About 3E Bio

3E Bioventures Capital is dedicated to investing in cutting-edge life sciences and biomedical technologies, with a focus on breakthrough first-in-class therapies and disruptive cross-disciplinary innovations in medical devices and diagnostics.  3E Bioventures takes on a science-driven, entrepreneur-friendly investment philosophy by working closely with companies and research institutions to develop drugs or products that have strong unmet medical needs.

About Oceanpine Capital

Oceanpine Capital is an institutional growth equity investment company formed by seasoned entrepreneurs and sophisticated investors with 20 years of in-depth industry operational and business building experiences in both China and the US. With a perspective of achieving successful growth over the long term, Oceanpine partners visionary entrepreneurs to build world-class companies together over a period of years rather than on the short-term impact.

Contact Info

info@lysoway.com
www.lysoway.com