NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Redpin Therapeutics today announced the appointment of David Bleakman, PhD, as its Chief Scientific Officer (CSO). Founded in 2017, Redpin is advancing novel platform technologies that enable the non-invasive, targeted regulation of neuronal cell activity in the brain to address crucial unmet needs for patients with severe neurological disorders.
Redpin’s co-founders include Jeffrey Friedman, MD, PhD (Rockefeller University/Howard Hughes Medical Institute); Scott Sternson, PhD (Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Research Campus); Michael Kaplitt, MD, PhD (Weill Cornell Medicine); Sarah Stanley, MBBCh, PhD (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai); Jonathan Dordick, PhD (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute); and Elma Hawkins, PhD, MBA, who also serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Redpin. The company’s founding investors include Arkin Bio Ventures, New York Ventures and Alexandria Venture Investments.
Dr. Bleakman joins Redpin from Eli Lilly & Company, where he served in roles of increasing responsibility over the course of his 25-year career at the company. As Lilly’s CSO for Pain/Migraine and Psychiatric Disorders Research, Dr. Bleakman was responsible for advancing molecules from target identification to clinical proof of concept. He most recently served as Lilly’s Vice President, CSO, Neuroscience Site Leader, New York. Dr. Bleakman received his doctorate from King’s College London, University of London and was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Chicago. He is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York.
“We are thrilled to welcome David to our team and look forward to leveraging his expansive expertise in CNS drug discovery and development to guide the advancement of our technology platforms and pipeline,” said Dr. Hawkins.
Redpin uses chemogenetics, a powerful and innovative technology that inverts traditional drug development by using gene therapy to target an engineered receptor to any cell type responsible for disease and modulating its function with an already-approved drug.
“I am delighted to join Redpin at this formative time for the company,” said Dr. Bleakman. “I was particularly drawn to the potentially broad applicability of Redpin’s technology and, hence, the opportunity to help many patients. Our technology can be used to address currently intractable disorders across disparate therapeutic areas. Our hope is that our novel approach will lead to new and effective treatments for neurologic and psychiatric diseases.”
About Redpin Therapeutics
Based in NYC, Redpin Therapeutics is advancing novel platform technologies that enable the non-invasive, targeted regulation of neuronal cell activity in the brain. Leveraging its technologies, Redpin aims to treat both neurological and psychiatric disorders that do not respond to current therapies.
