Axial Biotherapeutics Strengthens and Expands Board of Directors and Leadership Team

-Dr. Scott C. Brun joins Axial Board to support the advancement of the Company’s Autism and Parkinson’s Programs-

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Axial Biotherapeutics, a biotechnology company dedicated to building a unique class of gut-targeted programs for neurodegenerative diseases and neurodevelopmental disorders, today announced the appointment of Scott Brun M.D. to its Board of Directors. In addition, the Company announced the promotions and expanded roles of Stewart Campbell, Ph.D., to Senior Vice President and Head of R&D, Chris Meyer to Vice President of Operations and Hitesh Bhagat, Ph.D., as Vice President, Drug Delivery and Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC).

“We are excited with the progress we have made on our Autism Spectrum Disorder and Parkinson’s Disease programs in such a short period of time. As we continue to advance our programs and build out our operational and clinical capabilities, we are pleased to add Dr. Scott Brun to our Board of Directors, an industry veteran with over two decades of drug and corporate development experience who will be instrumental in advising us on our near-term progress and future development activities,” said David H. Donabedian, Ph.D., CEO of Axial Biotherapeutics.

“I am very excited to join the Axial Board of Directors and look forward to partnering with David and the entire Axial team,” said Scott Brun, M.D. “Throughout my career, I have worked with early and late-stage companies both as an R&D collaborator and as a venture capital investor. I am eager to apply these experiences to help support Axial and their unique approach to treat CNS diseases and disorders.”

Dr. Scott Brun brings over twenty years of strategic and operational experience within the pharmaceutical industry. He most recently served as Vice President of Scientific Affairs and Head of AbbVie Ventures. Under his leadership, the group expanded its investment portfolio to include over 20 active companies. In addition, Dr. Brun served as one of AbbVie’s primary spokespersons for R&D to global media, governmental officials and investors. He initially joined AbbVie at its launch in 2013 as Vice President and Head of Pharmaceutical Development. Prior to joining AbbVie, Dr. Brun held positions of increasing responsibility in drug development within R&D at Abbott Laboratories. Scott holds an M.D. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He completed his residency in Ophthalmology at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary/Harvard Medical School. He holds a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

About Axial Biotherapeutics

Axial Biotherapeutics is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering novel science focused on the interaction between the brain and the gut to mitigate the causes and symptoms of the central nervous system (CNS) and other gut-derived diseases. The Company has built a pipeline of novel small-molecules and live biotherapeutics with lead programs to address the significant unmet patient needs associated with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).