Soleno Therapeutics, Inc. Announces Management Changes
April 29, 2019 at 08:00 am EDT
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Soleno Therapeutics, Inc. announced the appointment of Gwen A. Melincoff to its Board of Directors, effective April 26, 2019. Ms. Melincoff will replace Mahendra G. Shah, who is stepping down from the Board. Ms. Melincoff has over 25 years of leadership experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector, and was named one of the Top Women in Biotech 2013 by FierceBiotech. She currently sits on the board of directors of Photocure ASA, and Collegium Pharmaceutical, and is an Advisor at Agent Capital, Phase 1 Ventures and Verge Genomics. She was previously a board member at Kamada, as well as Tobira Therapeutics when Allergan acquired it for $1.7 billion. She most recently served as Vice President of Business Development at BTG International Inc. and from 2004 to the 2013, was Senior Vice President of Business Development at Shire Pharmaceuticals. She led Shire’s Strategic Investment Group (SIG) and served as a board member/board observer at DBV Technologies, AM Pharma, ArmaGen Technologies, Promethera Biosciences, Naurex Inc. (acquired by Allergan), and Enterome. She was responsible for the collaboration with New River Pharmaceuticals that led to the $2.6 billion acquisition of the company. Prior to joining Shire, Ms. Melincoff was Vice President of Business Development at Adolor Corporation. Ms. Melincoff received her M.S. in Management from Pennsylvania State University, completed her B.S. in Biology from George Washington University, and attained the designation of Certified Licensing Professional (CLP™).
Soleno Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. The Company is focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for the treatment of rare diseases. Its lead candidate, Diazoxide Choline Extended-Release tablets (DCCR), extended-release tablets, a once-daily oral tablet for the treatment of Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), recently completed its Phase 3 development program. DCCR is a potent ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channel activator. DCCR tablets consist of the active ingredient diazoxide choline, a choline salt of diazoxide, which is a benzothiadiazine. DCCRâs mode of action with targets in the brain, pancreas and fat tissue has the potential to impact complex diseases like PWS to reduce appetite, reduce food seeking, improve satiety, improve insulin and leptin resistance and reduce body fat. The Company has a Fast-Track designation for DCCR in PWS and an orphan designation for the drug in the United States and the European Union.