KUSTE BIOPHARMA WELCOMES A NEW MEMBER IN ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND LAUNCHES ITS FIRST CLINICAL TRIAL.

Lyon France, 09 November 2020: KUSTE BIOPHARMA, the startup specialised in inflammatory diseases, is proud to expand its reach by welcoming a new member, Elmar Schnee, in its Board of Directors. Another important step for the development of the company, after the recent closing of a relevant financial round and the launch of its first clinical study.

Elmar Schnee has recently joined KUSTE BIOPHARMA as Independent Board Member.

With a Master Degree in Marketing and General Management, Elmar Schnee has more than 30 years experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector. 

After holding various global management positions at Fisons, Migliare Kaplan Associates, Sanofi and UCB, he joined, in 2003, Merck KGaA as Executive Chairman Merck Sante France in Lyon. In 2006, Elmar Schnee was appointed as General Partner and Member of the Executive Board at Merck KGaA being responsible for the world-wide pharmaceutical business. He was also CEO of Merck Serono from its creation to 2010. 

From 2011 until 2015 he was Chairman, CEO and board member of Cardiorentis AG. From 2016 to 2018 he was Management Advisor and COO at Mindmaze SA. 

Currently Elmar Schnee serves as Chairman of listed Santhera and Calliditas and is a board member of Jazz Pharmaceuticals. He is also founder and board member of several private companies. 

"I am honored to have joined the Board of KUSTE BIOPHARMA, which combines experienced leadership with an innovative pipeline. Since its inception in Oct 2019 the company has made significant achievments as it is now in a clinical phase with its lead molecule" said Elmar Schnee.

This important step in the development of the company comes in parallel with the launch of its first clinical trial. KUSTE BIOPHARMA is currently conducting a clinical study to explore the effects of KU002 (Brimapitide) a JNK inhibitor,  in patients who suffer from IC/BPS

The study is currently approved and recruiting patients in the Netherlands and expected to expand in other European Countries.

IC/PBS causes pain in the bladder region, and it is associated to a variety of urological symptoms like frequent and urgent urination and in its particularly aggressive form, called Hunner Ulcers, it manifests as lesions to the bladder walls. Patients  have no specific treatment options. 

Brimapitide (KU002) is an investigational anti-inflammatory compound exerting its effect in the c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK) pathway, which is central to the inflammatory cascade and may serve as a modulator for IC disease pathology and symptomatology. 

Early studies in a model of IC in rats demonstrated an effect to increase the pain threshold. 

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KUSTE BIOPHARMA is a new biopharmaceutical Clinical Stage company recently founded by seasoned Life Sciences entrepreneurs, inheriting anti-inflammatory compounds locally released, that have achieved results in Phase 3 for eye and ears diseases.

KUSTE BIOPHARMA is expanding the use of these molecules to inflammatory Uro-Gastro  diseases whose medical needs are currently unmet, such as Interstitial Cystitis/Painful Bladder Syndrome (IC/PBS).

Existing data support also other possible developments, like Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).

KUSTE BIOPHARMA has closed a relevant financial round entering Phase 2 clinical studies  on IC/PBS 

More information at: www.kustebiopharma.com

PRESS CONTACT : 

Nathalie de Valleuil 

nathalie.devalleuil@kustebiopharma.com