Cytogel Announces Addition of A. Thomas McLellan, PhD to its Scientific Advisory Board

A. Thomas McLellan, PhD joins Cytogel's Scientific Advisory Board as firm enters Phase 2 for lead compound in pain treatment

DARIEN, CONN., US, October 28, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Cytogel Pharma, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing first-in-class drug candidates and dedicated to safer pain management, announced today that A. Thomas McLellan, PhD has joined its Scientific Advisory Board. The Company’s mission is to bring to market safer, effective pain treatments, which would transform the experience for patients and healthcare workers alike.

Dr. McLellan is Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania and brings a wealth of experience and expertise on addiction prevention and treatment. He is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Treatment Research Institute (TRI), a not-for-profit research and development institute in Philadelphia, and has worldwide recognition for his more than 40 years of research. He has published over 525 articles and chapters on addiction research and successfully completed over 150 NIH research grants. Dr. McLellan is the recipient of several distinguished awards including the Life Achievement Awards of the American and British Societies of Addiction Medicine; the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Innovator Award; and awards for Distinguished Contribution to Addiction Medicine from the Swedish (2002) and Italian (2002) Medical Associations.

Cytogel’s lead compound, CYT-1010, is the first in a new class of drugs, the endomorphins, with a novel mechanism of action, to enter human clinical development. CYT-1010 targets the right receptors of the central nervous system, has proven to be more potent than morphine and has demonstrated an improved side effect profile of less potential for addiction and little or no respiratory depression at therapeutic doses. In preclinical studies and a Phase 1 study, CYT-1010 has been shown to provide:

- Safe and effective pain relief
- Impressive anti-inflammatory effects
- Little to no addiction potential
- No respiratory depression

“We are very pleased that Dr. McLellan is joining us at this pivotal time in our pursuit of a transformational pain solution that will avoid addiction and respiratory depression,” Dean Maglaris, CEO and Chairman of Cytogel commented. “Dr. McLellan’s reputation as a highly renowned researcher and key opinion leader on substance abuse and drug addiction is very well known. He brings a passion for breaking the cycle of pain and addiction from many of the current pain treatments and will further strengthen our development program for CYT-1010.”

Dr. McLellan joins Lynn Webster, MD, pain physician and researcher, VP Scientific Affairs with PRA Health Services and William Schmidt, PhD, pain researcher and President of NorthStar Consulting along with Cytogel’s full Scientific Advisory Team of experts.

“It’s my privilege to work alongside Lynn and Bill and the full Cytogel Scientific Advisory Board,” Dr. McLellan stated. “I am enthusiastic about CYT-1010, as a member of the endomorphin family, and believe it represents the best option for solving the pain and addiction challenge of the opioids. I look forward to participating in its ground-breaking development.”

About Cytogel:
Cytogel is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing first-in-class drug candidates, from the novel endomorphin family of molecules, that target key pain pathways and alleviate pain. This groundbreaking approach is backed by scientific evidence that elucidates its novel mechanism of action, differentiating it from that of the existing opioids and presenting an attractive alternative treatment for people in pain.

For additional information, visit: CytogelPharma.com

Disclosure Notice
CYT-1010 is an investigational new drug and has not been approved by the FDA or any regulatory body for use in humans or animals. This release contains forward-looking information about CYT-1010 and a potential new indication for the treatment of patients with moderate to severe post-operative pain via IV administration. Any potential benefits that may be implied by these statements involves substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the possibility of unfavorable clinical trial results, unfavorable additional analyses of existing data; uncertainties regarding the commercial success of CYT-1010; the risk that regulatory authorities may not share our views on the safety and/or effectiveness of a product candidate and may require additional data or may deny approval altogether; whether regulatory authorities will be satisfied with the design of and results from our clinical studies; whether and when any new drug applications for CYT-1010 may be filed with regulatory authorities in any jurisdictions; whether and when regulatory authorities in any jurisdictions may approve any such applications that may be filed or pending for CYT-1010, which will depend on the assessment by such regulatory authorities of the benefit-risk profile suggested by the totality of the efficacy and safety information submitted; decisions by regulatory authorities regarding labeling and other matters that could affect the availability or commercial potential of CYT-1010.

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Kimberly Weinrick
Cytogel
kweinrick@cytogelpharma.com