Allay Therapeutics Appoints David Hewitt, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer

MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Allay Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering ultra-sustained analgesic products to transform post-surgical pain management and recuperation, today announced the appointment of David Hewitt, M.D. as chief medical officer. Dr. Hewitt is an accomplished neurologist and clinical trialist with over two decades of experience in clinical development and medical affairs. He joins Allay from Nura Bio, where he served as senior vice president, clinical development.

“I am pleased to welcome David to Allay. He is a leader in the field of analgesic drug development and his expertise and track record of success in the pain management and drug delivery space will be invaluable as we progress our lead therapeutic candidate into Phase 2b trials,” said Adam Gridley, chief executive officer of Allay Therapeutics. “We believe ATX-101 may establish a new category in post-surgical pain management providing extended pain relief with the potential for improved recovery. Providing pain relief beyond the first few days after surgery represents a significant unmet need for patients, caregivers and healthcare providers. David’s experience as a clinician and an industry leader will help establish this new category of pain management as we advance these new products to market.”

Prior to his role at Nura Bio, Dr. Hewitt was senior vice president of clinical development at Karuna Therapeutics, working on a novel mechanism for the treatment of schizophrenia. Dr. Hewitt previously served as chief medical officer at Syneos Health, leading a large medical affairs team focused on helping biopharmaceutical companies bring their novel therapies from lab to life. Prior to his role with Syneos Health, Dr. Hewitt held roles of increasing responsibility in the neurology group at Merck, working in pain, migraine and neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Hewitt began his biopharma career in the Ortho-McNeil division of Johnson & Johnson, where he designed and conducted clinical trials focused on acute and chronic pain. He earned his medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry and completed his neurology residency training at New York Hospital Cornell Medical Center before completing a fellowship in pain, palliative care and analgesic research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

“Allay’s ultra-sustained method of drug delivery may offer a promising non-opioid pain management approach to patients that will aid them in their recovery from surgery. I’m excited to join the Allay team in building on the initial promising clinical data showing reductions in pain and opioid usage over weeks,” said Dr. Hewitt. “At Allay, we are working to usher in a new era of pain management focused on providing analgesia in the weeks following surgery to improve functional recovery and potentially eliminate the use of narcotics as the primary therapy for postoperative pain.”

About Allay Therapeutics

Allay Therapeutics is pioneering ultra-sustained analgesic products to transform post-surgical pain management and recuperation for patients and physicians. Our proprietary technology platform combines validated non-opioid analgesics and biopolymers to create dissolvable candidates to deliver pain relief within a targeted site over weeks: an order of magnitude greater than the longest-lasting pain treatments currently available. Our platform and vision were shaped by The Foundry incubator and Lightstone Venture’s Singapore Fund. Allay unites a dynamic, global team of entrepreneurs, scientists, clinicians and innovators in the San Francisco Bay Area and Singapore. Learn more at allaytx.com.