FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2019AZTherapies, Inc., a★§∑‍ biopharmaceutical company dev  eloping therapeutics to extend bπβ♣rain health, today announced the acquisi∑✔tion of Smith Therapeutics, a ✔​private biopharmaceutical company with "→a shared goal of targeting neuroinflammaγ₹♠tion to treat neurodegenerative disease. ¥♥Smith Therapeutics’ Fou≈•nder and Chief Executive Officer Philip $σAshton-Rickardt, Ph.D., h≥<→as joined the senior leadersh♠$ip team at AZTherapies as Senior Vice Presi♠→dent of Immunology. Financi≈↓al terms of the acquisition were not di≈✔≠sclosed.Smith Therapeutics’ proprietary researc£♦∏h platform focuses onα↔ the use of modified T cells to restore a health±×↔y balance of inflammatory and regula'‍≠tory cells in the brain. To date♠♥₩, Smith has successfully engin'&≥<eered immunosuppressive T regulatory (Tr♠β≥♣eg) cells with Chimeric Antigen Receptoβ ✘rs (CARs) targeting brain glial cells.‍₩ Previous research has de£♣>∑monstrated the ability o×φf Tregs to dampen microglial activity and reduce ♥↑βneuroinflammation in models of neurodegeneration,¶↓ suggesting their potential ≈β™∏utility in the treatment of diseases including P∞‍∞rogressive Supranucl↕&•"ear Palsy (PSP), Alzheimer’s disease, Par≠×kinson’s disease, Huntington’s disea≈✔∞£se, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS),♦  and others.“This acquisition represents a me×&↓aningful step forward for us as we conti ₹nue to strengthen our ←δleadership position in the development of ther™★♣×apies targeting neuroinflammation to sto&↔p or slow the progression♣♦Ω∏ of neurodegenerative dise×∞ases,” said David R. ∑₹↔¥Elmaleh, Ph.D., Founder, CEO, and ≠↔₩€Chairman of AZTherapies. “We are excited to be ←>working with Philip as we add thβ∞€is cutting-edge technology to our portfolio of iε​‍αnnovative programs. An esteemed immunolo↓¶gist and inventor of the technology, Philip "α• brings unparalleled expertise to the compa←♣ny and we look forward to advancing this€‍✔π CAR-Treg program further into IND-enabling stuπ¶δdies and into clinical development a '✔πs rapidly as possible.”↓πδDr. Ashton-Rickardt commented on the acquisit∑↔✔ion and his appointment: “Our π↔ shared rationale of tar↑ ≈geting neuroinflammation as the ro÷λ‌ot cause of neurodegenerative di₩‍εsease makes this acquisition a great strateg‌±→ic fit for us. With AZTherapies’ expertise i§♣♠σn drug development and clinical trial exe♠∑cution, we believe that together, we are well po≈≤sitioned to advance our CAR-Treg ←✘technology and fundamentally chγ♠ange neurodegenerative disease progression.”P$£™rior to launching Smith Ther>♣apeutics in 2017, Dr.¶÷↔ Ashton-Rickardt was Chair ε ≥ in Immunology at Imperial Coll♥✔φege London, Visiting Professor, Brβ☆igham and Women’s Hospi✘©↑↑tal, Harvard Medical School, and Asso₽$✘φciate Professor in the Department of Patholog×®‍y at the University of Chicago. His work has ↓α∞∞been recognized by his peers thr•✘₹ough the award of tenure fr±σ&om The University of Chica•≥go and by his fellow c>↔♥£itizens as a recipient of the Early Career Awa₹≈λrd for Scientists and Engineers from∞↑‌' President Bill Clinton. H€≠×e has published more than 65 peer ×♠✔-reviewed papers in mo↑₩‍∑re than 30 academic journa✘♥ls (including Cell, Science, Immunity, an↔δd Nature Immunology), has s®Ω÷☆erved as an editor for several academic jou☆♦↕rnals, and has been a member of grant review →₹boards globally. Dr. Ashton-R≤₽♦ickardt received a B.Sc. in Biochemis✔₩​try from the University o↑₽©f London, King’s College with hono↔β rs, a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the U¥♥<niversity of Edinburgh★↑α, and completed post-doctoral wor∏↑∏k at the University of Edinburgh aε↔nd the Massachusetts Instπβ∏‍itute of Technology in Molecular Biol©σogy and Molecular Immunology, resp¶$ectively.information source↕§≥:pharma focus AsiaThe original <↑ ↕link:https:https://www.pharmafocusasia.com/nδ&φ←ews/aztherapies-strengthens-&∞≠neuroinflammation-targeted-pipeline-through-acquiδα×★sition-of-smith-therapeutics2019 §₩Asia-pacific pharma IP Leade¶>r Summit: http://en.zenseegroup.com/p/510934/w↔₹δill be held in Beij∑>ing  on November 14-15, andφ¶​ will attract more than 50α¶0 industry experts from domestic and foreig←ε₩φn pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology compan∏≥ies, governments, asso∞×ciations, law firms, intellectual pro♠ → perty agents and other comp₽₽✔anies to attend.Official registration and consult←γation channels:Contact：An♠α®±nPhone: 021-65650305Email：™♥σMarketing@zenseegroup.comhttp://∏≥≠εen.zenseegroup.com/p/51093  4