Enterprise Therapeutics appoints Dr Renu Gupta as Chief Medical Officer and Dr Janet Hammond as Non-Executive Director

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Appointments bring additional respiratory and late clinical-stage drug development experience as Company commences Phase 2a clinical trial of its lead asset

Brighton, UK, 17 June 2024:Enterprise Therapeutics Ltd (Enterprise), a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel therapies to improve the lives of patients suffering from respiratory disease, today announced the appointment of Dr Renu Gupta as CMO (Chief Medical Officer) and Dr Janet Hammond as a Non-Executive Director.

Dr Gupta is a physician-scientist and industry leader, with more than 20 years of experience as a CMO, most recently at Promedior, Inc., a member of the Roche Group. During a career spanning over 30 years in the biopharmaceutical industry, she has held various roles within research and development, executive management, and as a Board member, including at Global Bio-Pharma, Corbus Pharmaceuticals, Breath Therapeutics, Insmed, Inc. (NASDAQ: INSM), Novartis, and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS). Dr Gupta has been instrumental in implementing innovative clinical and regulatory strategies and development pathways to advance targets, including for rare disease indications, forming productive private-public sector partnerships, raising capital, and ultimately advancing molecules from drug discovery through approvals in the major global markets. She received her bachelor and medical degrees from the University of Zambia and completed her medical and post-doctoral training at Albert Einstein Medical Center, the Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr Hammond has over 20 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical industry, during which time she has overseen the development and successful approval of several drugs. She is currently Chief Development Officer at Atea Pharmaceuticals, a Boston-based biotech focused on the development of antiviral drugs for life-threatening infectious diseases. Prior to joining Atea, Janet was Vice President and Head of Infectious Diseases and General Medicine at AbbVie, Inc., and Senior Vice President and Global Head of Infectious Diseases at Hoffmann-la Roche. She obtained her MD and PhD from the University of Cape Town where she specialised in Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine, holds a Masters in Clinical Investigation from Johns Hopkins University, and carried out training in Infectious Diseases at Duke and Johns Hopkins Universities.

 Dr John Ford, CEO, Enterprise Therapeutics, said: “We are delighted to welcome Renu as CMO and Janet to the Board. Renu’s successful track record in developing innovative respiratory medicines will be a great asset to the team, while Janet’s extensive experience in driving late-stage clinical development programmes will be an invaluable addition to the Board. Both appointments substantially strengthen our team as we work towards delivering clinical proof of concept for our lead asset ETD001, taking us a step closer to providing an effective therapy for people with cystic fibrosis not benefitting from CFTR modulators.”

Dr Renu Gupta, CMO, Enterprise Therapeutics, added: “Enterprise Therapeutics’ development programme shows impressive dedication and great promise for the treatment of those people with cystic fibrosis not currently served by existing therapies. I am excited to join the Company, and look forward to working with John, Janet, and the rest of the team as we progress through Phase 2 trials.”

Dr Janet Hammond, Non-Executive Director, Enterprise Therapeutics, commented: “The work that Enterprise Therapeutics is doing has the potential to significantly improve the lives of patients living with respiratory diseases. I look forward to supporting the Company in this goal by working alongside the management team to help drive the success of its clinical programmes.”

For more information about Enterprise Therapeutics, visit www.enterprisetherapeutics.com

Enterprise Therapeutics publishes preclinical profile of ETD001, a novel inhaled ENaC blocker

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  • Low doses of ETD001 demonstrate exceptionally long duration of action in sheep model of airway mucus clearance
  • Report in Journal of Cystic Fibrosis discloses best-in-class profile of ETD001
  • ETD001 scheduled to commence Phase 2 clinical study in people with cystic fibrosis in summer 2024

Brighton, UK, 12 June 2024: Enterprise Therapeutics Ltd (Enterprise), a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel therapies to improve the lives of people with respiratory diseases, today announced the publication of a peer reviewed study in the Journal of Cystic Fibrosis1. The paper describes low doses of the ENaC blocker ETD001, Enterprise’s lead asset, enhancing airway mucus clearance with an exceptionally long duration of action in a sheep model.

This study indicates that ETD001, at a dose level that was well tolerated in healthy volunteer studies, provides an opportunity to test whether a long-acting ENaC blocker can deliver benefit to people with cystic fibrosis (pwCF). ETD001 is scheduled to commence a Phase 2 clinical study in pwCF in summer 2024, to understand whether 28 days of treatment will improve lung function.

Blocking ENaC in the airways offers a novel approach to improve mucus clearance in pwCF, including in the ≥10% of individuals who are either intolerant of or genetically unsuited to CFTR modulators. Recently, several other ENaC blocking drugs (VX-371, AZD5634, BI 1265162, QBW276) failed to show any benefit in clinical trials. This study provides a potential explanation for these failures as data from the sheep model indicate that each may have been dosed in clinical trials at a dose too low to observe an extended duration of action on mucus clearance.

Dr Henry Danahay, Head of Biology, Enterprise Therapeutics, and lead author of the paper, said: “This data provides strong evidence that ETD001 has a superior profile compared to other inhaled ENaC blockers. Along with the results from the Phase 1 trials where ETD001 was well-tolerated, this study supports our high level of confidence going into the Phase 2 clinical trial. We remain passionate in our drive to discovery novel therapies that have the potential to transform the lives of all people with cystic fibrosis.”

  1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S156919932400081X

For more information about Enterprise Therapeutics, visit www.enterprisetherapeutics.com