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Former Principal Deputy Commissioner of FDA, Dr. Rachel Sherman, Joins Aptinyx Board of DirectorsEVANSTON, Ill., Sept. 04, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aptinyx Inc. (Nasdaq: APTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing transformative therapies for the treatment of brain and nervous system disorders, today announced the appointment of Rachel Sherman, M.D., M.P.H., former principal deputy commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to the company’s Board of Directors, effective immediately. “Rachel’s expertise in drug development, evaluation, and regulation is unparalleled and we are honored to welcome her to our Board of Directors,” stated Norbert Riedel, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Aptinyx. “During her extraordinary tenure at the FDA, across various divisions and senior-level roles, Rachel has been instrumental in many efforts that have led to remarkable improvements in drug development. The relationships, skills, and insights garnered throughout her exemplary career will add a unique domain expertise and perspective to our Board.” Dr. Sherman, a renowned expert in medical policy, served at the FDA for nearly 30 years until her retirement early in 2019. Most recently at the FDA, she was the principal deputy commissioner—the commissioner’s most senior policy advisor and the agency’s highest position not politically appointed. Dr. Sherman held this position from 2017 until her retirement. Additional senior-level roles she held while at the FDA included deputy commissioner for Medical Products and Tobacco in the Office of the Commissioner and director of the Office of Medical Policy in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). During her time with the Agency, Dr. Sherman played lead roles in numerous policy and organizational initiatives credited with enhancing product development and facilitating patient access to innovative medicines, including expedited drug development and breakthrough therapy designation programs as well as the Opioid Policy Steering Committee. “I am delighted to be joining the exemplary team of dedicated professionals at Aptinyx,” said Dr. Sherman. “The company’s NMDA receptor platform, rooted in novel chemistry and a unique mechanism for modulation of a critical regulator of brain and nervous system function, has yielded a product pipeline with significant therapeutic potential to help patients without satisfactory options. CNS is an area starved for innovation, marked by an opioid crisis that is devatating the United States, and in which new therapeutic options are desperately needed. I am excited to be able to participate in the progression of Aptinyx’s promising product candidates for the treatment of devastating CNS conditions.” Dr. Sherman is currently president of Rachel Sherman Partners LLC, a drug development, regulatory, and policy consulting firm she founded in 2019 following her retirement from the FDA. She also serves as a clinical lecturer at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and as a senior policy fellow at Duke University’s Margolis Center for Health Policy. Dr. Sherman received an A.B. in mathematics from Washington University (St. Louis), an M.D. from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and an M.P.H. from The School of Hygiene and Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. About Aptinyx Forward-Looking Statements Investor & Media Contact: Source: Aptinyx Inc. |