SAN DIEGO, Calif., Oct. 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Recludix Pharma, a leader in platform approaches to discover inhibitors of challenging cancer and inflammatory disease targets, today announced the appointment of Paul A. Smith, Ph.D., as senior vice president of biology.

“Paul has extensive drug discovery experience, including in transitioning therapies from research to clinical development, as well as supporting the FDA approval of several medicines,” said Nancy Whiting, Pharm.D., chief executive officer of Recludix. “With a pipeline of programs initially focused on five targets that play critical roles in the pathologies of several cancers and inflammatory diseases, we are looking forward to having the leadership and capabilities that Paul brings complement our existing high-performing team.”

Dr. Smith has more than 15 years of drug discovery experience primarily focused on the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Dr. Smith was most recently at Connect Biopharma as the vice president of discovery biology responsible for the prioritization, planning and execution of their preclinical discovery pipeline. Previously, he was the senior director of inflammation and autoimmunity at Incyte Corporation where he established the discovery research team and was instrumental in the development strategy for certain therapeutics, including FDA-approved Opzelura™ (ruxolitinib cream) for atopic dermatitis and Jakafi™ (oral ruxolitinib) for acute and chronic graft versus host disease. At Novartis, Dr. Smith was the global research lead for Gilenya™ (fingolimod), the first approved sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) receptor modulator, and Kesimpta™ (ofatumumab), a differentiated anti-CD20 therapy for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. At Merck Serono, he was the director of pharmacology responsible for preclinical inflammation and biomarker discovery. Earlier in his career, Dr. Smith was a senior scientist at UCB focused on novel biologics-based treatment strategies for inflammatory diseases. Dr. Smith is an inventor on fifteen issued or pending patents. He received his Ph.D. in Immunology and Neuroscience at Imperial College London, UK and a B.Sc. in Pharmacology from the University of Bath, UK.

Dr. Smith added, “As a scientist, I am deeply impressed by the incredible discoveries that Recludix has made in order to enable the drugging of SH2 domain targets. Inhibiting a disease-associated pathway at the SH2 domain could lead to greater and more selective blocking of disease activity. And, based on my experience with JAK inhibitors, I am particularly excited about the possibility of developing a therapy that impacts this validated pathway but with a more targeted biological response, widening the therapeutic window, and potentially resulting in safer and more effective therapies for patients.”

About Recludix
Recludix is a leader in developing platform approaches to discover potent and selective inhibitors of challenging protein targets. The company was founded by members of Blueprint Medicines’ founding scientific team and its management team includes industry veterans with a track record of success in the discovery, development and commercialization of multiple oncology drugs. Recludix has developed a unique drug discovery platform that integrates custom generated DNA-encoded libraries, massively parallel determination of structure activity relationships, and a proprietary screening tool to ensure selectivity. The company is employing this approach first in the development of SH2 domain inhibitors. Recludix’s most advanced programs are focused on Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription (STAT) proteins -- STAT3 and STAT6 -- where abnormal activation is found in numerous cancer types, such as multiple leukemias and lymphomas, as well as inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, atopic dermatitis, inflammatory bowel disease, and others. The company is advancing three other programs to undisclosed targets that also play a significant role in both cancer and autoimmune diseases. For more information, please visit the company’s website at https://recludixpharma.com.

Recludix Contacts:
Alexandra Santos
asantos@wheelhouselsa.com

Aljanae Reynolds
areynolds@wheelhouselsa.com