New York University Professor of Chemistry Dr. Kent Kirshenbaum Named Chief Scientific Officer at Maxwell Biosciences

Company Enters into License with NYU for Patents that Originated as a Result of Kirshenbaum’s Research Discoveries

AUSTIN, Texas & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Maxwell Biosciences develops antiviral drugs, designed to be Zero-Day Therapeutics (ZDT), which have been shown in preclinical studies to destroy a broad spectrum of viruses including rapidly evolving Coronavirus strains, today announced the appointment of prominent New York University (NYU) faculty member Kent Kirshenbaum, Ph.D., as the company’s Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Kirshenbaum assumes the leadership position at Maxwell while retaining his faculty position at NYU. Maxwell Biosciences has also entered into a license with New York University to license patents developed as a result of Dr. Kirshenbaum’s breakthrough discoveries in new therapeutic technologies.

Zero-Day Therapeutics are broad-spectrum antivirals that target unchanging aspects of viruses allowing them to destroy rapidly evolving vaccine-resistant viruses as well as novel viruses.

“Successfully recruiting Dr. Kirshenbaum to our team and licensing arguably some of the most innovative patents in the field of molecular pharmacology is pushing our mission and the advancement of the work being done today to explore, design and develop anti-infective therapeutics far into the future, today,” said Maxwell Biosciences CEO and Co-founder Joshua McClure.

Dr. Kirshenbaum is the co-founder of New York University’s Biomedical Chemistry Institute and has trained a large number of scientists at the interface of chemistry and the life sciences. He holds a B.A. in Chemistry from Reed College, a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from University of California, San Francisco and was an N.I.H. Postdoctoral Fellow at the California Institute of Technology prior to joining the faculty at New York University. Through his career, he has advanced the fields of Bioorganic Chemistry, Biomimetic Chemistry, Protein Design and Macromolecular Science, particularly in relation to his work on developing synthetic N-substituted glycine molecules that can mimic the structure and function of natural proteins. Dr. Kirshenbaum’s contributions to science have earned him numerous awards and thousands of citations across the leading annals of science, including the prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2007-2012), the Alzheimer's Association New Investigator Award and the James D. Watson Investigator Award.

According to Dr R.E.W. (Bob) Hancock, OC, OBC, FRSC, Chairman of Maxwell Biosciences Scientific Advisory Board and a professor at the University of British Columbia Killam, ”Kent is a world leader in anti-infective peptidomimetics, the primary class of molecules that base the next generation of therapeutics we are pursuing. Kent will accelerate and add genuine quality to the drive to exploit innovative science to address unmet medical needs."

“Joining Maxwell Biosciences at this time is an extraordinary opportunity. Along with Dr. Barron and other inspirational colleagues in the anti-infective drug research community, we have been contemplating this type of advance for decades, and Maxwell is providing a portal to achieve our ambitions. Throughout dozens of peer-reviewed scientific reports and awarded grant proposals, we have articulated that this new class of pharmaceuticals have the capability to advance human health. Being part of the Maxwell team will now allow us to prove this hypothesis. I believe we are poised to advance the field of biomedical chemistry and overcome critical impediments in the pharmacology of infectious disease,” said Dr. Kirshenbaum.

To learn more about Maxwell Biosciences, please visit the company’s corporate website.

About Maxwell Biosciences

Founded in 2016, Maxwell Biosciences develops Zero-Day Therapeutics (ZDT) designed to be effective against rapidly evolving and novel viruses. Maxwell’s current lead drug candidates are antivirals which have been shown in preclinical studies to destroy a broad spectrum of viruses including rapidly evolving Coronavirus strains, Herpes Simplex Virus, Hepatitis B and C, Chikungunya and Influenza virus. The drugs have been shown to be well tolerated in human tissues and in vivo mouse studies. In 2021, studies are planned in hamsters and nonhuman primates. Maxwell’s technology is protected by seven granted patents and is led by a world-class team of experienced life sciences executives.