NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., June 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AEON Biopharma, Inc., a private clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapeutic indications for its proprietary botulinum toxin complex ABP-450 (prabotulinumtoxinA) injection, today announced the appointment of Chad K. Oh, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer, effective immediately. Dr. Oh will lead the company’s clinical development of ABP-450, which currently includes a Phase 2 clinical study for the treatment of cervical dystonia and a Phase 2 clinical study for the preventive treatment of migraine that are expected to announce topline data in early-2022 and late-2022, respectively.
“We are excited to expand the management team with the addition of Dr. Oh as our Chief Medical Officer. He brings extensive clinical knowledge and experience that provides us great confidence in his ability to lead ABP-450 through all phases of development and the implementation of a successful regulatory strategy,” said Marc Forth, Chief Executive Officer of AEON Biopharma. “With such a talented team in place and the ongoing progress of our clinical development efforts, I believe we are well-positioned to execute upon our strategy to address a broad range of debilitating medical conditions.”
“I am proud to join the AEON team, and plan to lead ABP-450’s clinical development strategy with incredible passion and commitment as we look to make a difference in patients’ lives. I look forward to building upon the progress that has already been made by the team and contributing to the company’s long-term growth, as we advance AEON's pipeline in the clinic,” stated Dr. Oh.
Dr. Oh brings more than 30 years of combined experience in academia and the pharmaceutical industry, with a concentration in clinical development of various therapeutic areas, including CNS, infectious diseases, respiratory diseases, cancer, autoimmune diseases, and rare/orphan diseases. He has effectively led multiple submissions to the U.S., European, and Asian regulatory authorities, including over 30 IND submissions, 20 505(b)(2) submissions, completed three NDAs, and completed one BLA. Prior to joining AEON, Dr. Oh was Vice President of Clinical Development at the Weinberg Group, a global leader in regulatory and compliance services, during which time he consulted on the clinical and regulatory development of vaccines, biologics, and small molecules. Before joining Weinberg Group, he was Vice President of Clinical Development at Revance Therapeutics, during which time he helped develop its botulinum toxin Type A for several therapeutic indications in the U.S. Prior to Revance Therapeutics, he was the Vice President of Clinical Development at Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, during which time he led the clinical development of biologics, small molecules, and combination products in the respiratory, immunology, and dermatology, as well as being involved in multiple IND submissions and an NDA submission. Prior to joining the private sector, he a spent approximately 13 years at the UCLA School of Medicine where he held various roles, including Head, Allergy / Immunology / Rheumatology Clinic, and Chief, Division of Allergy and Immunology at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, and, he served as Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics at UCLA School of Medicine. He is an author of approximately 70 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters and review articles, as well as over 70 published abstracts, and inventor or co-inventor of multiple patents. Dr. Oh received his M.D. from the Kyung-Hee University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
About ABP-450 (prabotulinumtoxinA) Injection
ABP-450 contains a 900 kDa botulinum toxin type-A complex produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. The active part of the botulinum toxin is the 150 kDa component, and the remaining 750 kDa of the complex is made up of accessory proteins that the company believes help with the function of the active portion of the botulinum toxin. When injected at therapeutic levels, ABP-450 blocks peripheral acetylcholine release at presynaptic cholinergic nerve terminals by cleaving SNAP-25, a protein integral to the successful docking and release of acetylcholine from vesicles situated within the nerve endings leading to denervation and relaxation of the muscle.
ABP-450 is the same botulinum toxin complex that has been approved by regulatory authorities in the United States, the European Union and Canada for an aesthetic indication. To support this aesthetic indication, Daewoong’s aesthetic partner completed rigorous clinical development programs using Botox® as an active comparator and consistently showed that ABP-450 was non-inferior to Botox® at doses ranging from 20 units to 360 units.
AEON Biopharma licenses ABP-450 from Daewoong and possesses exclusive development and distribution rights for ABP-450 for therapeutic indications in the United States, Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and certain other international territories. Daewoong has constructed a facility in South Korea for the purposes of producing ABP-450, which was purpose-built to comply with FDA and EMA regulations.
About AEON Biopharma
AEON Biopharma is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing ABP-450 (prabotulinumtoxinA) injection for the treatment of debilitating medical conditions with an initial focus on the neurology and gastroenterology markets. The company is dedicated to innovation in the rapidly expanding therapeutic botulinum toxin market and believes its therapeutic-only focus will allow AEON Biopharma to advance safe and effective treatment options to patients, while delivering differentiated economics to payors and physicians. The company continues to evaluate additional therapeutic indications for development based on a comprehensive product assessment process designed to identify those indications where it believes ABP-450 can attain clinical, regulatory, and commercial success. More information about AEON can be found at www.aeonbiopharma.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements including statements related to that safety and efficacy of ABP-450 for the treatment of cervical dystonia, announcement of results related to clinical trials, clinical trial site onboarding, patient recruitment into clinical trials, and any future development efforts. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company or its industry to be materially different from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential” or other comparable terminology. All statements other than statements of historical fact could be deemed forward-looking, including any statements about current or planned clinical trials or related milestones; any projections of financial information; any statements about historical results that may suggest trends for the company’s business; any statements of the plans, strategies, and objectives of management for future operations; any statements of expectation or belief regarding future events, potential markets or market size, or technology developments; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the items mentioned. The company has based these forward-looking statements on its current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. While the company believes these expectations, assumptions, estimates, and projections are reasonable, such forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company’s control. These and other important factors may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are made only as of the date hereof. Except as required by law, the company assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements or to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in the company's expectations.
AEON Biopharma, Inc. Contacts:
Company Contact:
Chris Carr, AEON Biopharma
Chief Financial Officer
+1 949 354 6439
cc@aeonbiopharma.com
Investor Contact:
Corey Davis, Ph.D.
LifeSci Advisors
+1 212 915 2577
cdavis@lifesciadvisors.com