Renew Biopharma Announces New Executive Leadership to Drive its Drug Discovery Program

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Renew Biopharma, a leader in drug discovery and development of novel cannabinoids for human therapeutics, announced the addition of Steve Orndorff, Ph.D., as Chief Operating Officer.

Dr. Orndorff, is a seasoned business executive, scientist and serial entrepreneur, with more than 30 years of experience in drug discovery and development in various roles of management, business development, manufacturing and commercialization. He has been involved in the development of numerous small molecule drugs including pharmacogenomic therapies, orphan drugs, repurposed drugs, novel drug delivery systems and advanced manufacturing processes. His experience has spanned several therapeutic areas such as diabetes, inflammation and neurological applications in Alzheimer’s disease, migraine and traumatic brain injury, an area of focus for Renew Biopharma.

Most recently Dr. Orndorff was COO of Teewinot Life Sciences, a global leader in cannabinoid biosynthesis, and president and CEO of their subsidiary, Canalis Pharmaceuticals, a drug discovery and development company focused on rare cannabinoids and their novel derivatives for human therapeutics.

Earlier in his career he was founder and CEO of Accera Inc. (Cerecin), CEO of IM Therapeutics and CEO of Univera Pharmaceuticals. He was Chairman of the Colorado Institute for Drug, Device and Diagnostic Development, Chair and founding member of the Colorado BioScience Association, and President of the Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology. Dr. Orndorff holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Maryland.

“We are privileged to have an executive of Steve’s caliber and experience in drug development join the company as we advance our proprietary drug discovery platform and drug candidates toward commercialization. Steve’s understanding of the pharmaceutical applications of rare cannabinoids and their derivatives is a perfect match for Renew,” said Renew CEO Mike Mendez. “With the addition of Dr. Orndorff, we are confident that Renew will lead the industry in the discovery of novel cannabinoid therapeutics and the monetization of our biosynthetic cannabinoid production technology.”

“I have always been passionate about developing therapeutics in the area of neurological diseases, such as traumatic brain injury,” said Dr. Orndorff. “Renew’s proprietary technology to create novel cannabinoid derivatives with innate ability to cross the blood-brain barrier for neuroinflammatory conditions is truly groundbreaking,” he said. “We now can explore an area of chemistry that has never been screened before for human therapeutics, and I couldn’t be more excited to join Renew to advance the drug development program.”

About Renew Biopharma

Renew Biopharma is a drug discovery and development company focused on cannabinoid derivatives for human therapeutics. Renew has employed synthetic biology and rational enzyme engineering to develop a proprietary drug discovery platform for the generation of novel classes of cannabinoid derivatives that are difficult or impossible to synthesize with industry standard techniques. The company is focused on the development of these novel molecules for neuroinflammatory conditions, and uses where blood brain barrier transport is problematic.