FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2019AZTherapies, Inc., a b₩₩>βiopharmaceutical company developing therape‍✘utics to extend brain h'§∞ealth, today announced the acquisition of Smit↕←σ§h Therapeutics, a private biopharmaceutic÷↑<al company with a shared goal of targetiβ¶ng neuroinflammation to treat neurodegen✘↑§erative disease. Smith Therapeutics’ ♥∞λ÷Founder and Chief Executive Officer Philip Ashto☆®®n-Rickardt, Ph.D., has joined the senior ≈€γβleadership team at AZTherapie£•‍s as Senior Vice President of Immunology. Finan&"∞£cial terms of the acqui÷×sition were not disclosed.Smith T♣♠φ§herapeutics’ proprietary research platform f •≈ocuses on the use of modified €δδT cells to restore a healthy ba♣$≤lance of inflammatory and r$< ∞egulatory cells in the brain. To date, Smi∏₽β↑th has successfully engineered immunosu☆≥ppressive T regulatory (Treg) c∏≈<•ells with Chimeric A∑ ↔‌ntigen Receptors (CARs) targeting brain gli↕ ¶☆al cells. Previous resear↓☆ch has demonstrated the ability of Tre'±→gs to dampen microglial activity and reducβ✔'σe neuroinflammation in mod≥£π≠els of neurodegenerati≤÷♥✔on, suggesting their potential u←γtility in the treatment of diseaseγ'★s including Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PS​♦±P), Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s d <φisease, Huntington’s disease, A≠∞♦myotrophic Lateral Scler¥×©>osis (ALS), and others.↓β↓“This acquisition represents<‌ a meaningful step forward ♦★for us as we continue to stren​£₹gthen our leadership position in the developmeγ≈→nt of therapies targeting neuroinflam♠∑mation to stop or slow the progressio←™‍n of neurodegenerative diseases,” said David R. Eδ&←‍lmaleh, Ph.D., Founder, CEO, and Chairman o≥ f AZTherapies. “We are excited to be work ←∑ing with Philip as we add ✔≈♥this cutting-edge technology to our $→φportfolio of innovativαβ₽e programs. An esteemed immunolog§Ω&>ist and inventor of the technology, Ph↔©∏ilip brings unparalleled expertise to≤ε>¥ the company and we look forward to adv£®αancing this CAR-Treg prβ₽ogram further into IND-enabling stud¶≥ies and into clinical development as rapidly ∏®as possible.”Dr. Ashton-Rickardt commented ×₩on the acquisition and his appointmen←♥ t: “Our shared rationale of targ♦∑πeting neuroinflammation as the root cause of βλ€¥neurodegenerative disease mak∏♦™←es this acquisition a great strate¥™ gic fit for us. With AZTherapies’ e✘βγ←xpertise in drug development and clinical trial φεexecution, we believe t↕δγhat together, we are well positioned to advan‍£σ>ce our CAR-Treg technology and fundamentalπ"ly change neurodegenerative diseas​♦>e progression.”Prior to©¶✔ launching Smith Therapeutics in 2017, Dr. Ashton'® δ-Rickardt was Chair in Immunology at Impe∏• rial College London, Visiting Professor, Brigh₩δam and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical S♥‌chool, and Associate Profeδ'↔​ssor in the Department o'λ↑≈f Pathology at the University of✔γ¶ Chicago. His work has been recognized •"by his peers through the awar↓→d of tenure from The University of Chicago a ✔ nd by his fellow citizens as↔λ♣§ a recipient of the Early C₽φ>areer Award for Scien↕♠↕tists and Engineers from President Bill Clin£↔←ton. He has published λ more than 65 peer-reviewed papers in more than®÷φ 30 academic journals (including Cell, Sφσ≈βcience, Immunity, and Nature Immunology), ha∏γ≈s served as an editor for several ac€§ademic journals, and has been a member of grant r∏α♠eview boards globallφ y. Dr. Ashton-Rickardt received a B.Sc.✘✘ in Biochemistry from the University↔™ of London, King’s Colle¶© ge with honors, a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology ✔ from the University of Ed↑¶>φinburgh, and completed post-doctoral work  ✘ at the University of Edinburgh φ×®and the Massachusetts Institute of Tec‌σhnology in Molecular Biology and Molecular Immun≤"ology, respectively.informatio↕¶>n source:pharma focus AsiaThe original₹≠'λ link:https:https://www.pharmafocu>←sasia.com/news/aztherapies-str $engthens-neuroinflammation-targeted-pipeline-γ→ββthrough-acquisition-of-smith-therapeutics2019 Asi↓✘₩a-pacific pharma IP Leader Summit: http://en.ze ∑nseegroup.com/p/510934/will be held in ¶≥←Beijing  on Novembe≈☆×r 14-15, and will att★∏∏♠ract more than 500 industry experts frδ↕‍↑om domestic and foreign pharmaceutical compa×'¶•nies, biotechnology companies, gov§↓ernments, associations, law ♦  firms, intellectual property agents anφ±‌d other companies to attend.Official registr↕γation and consultatio"♣n channels:Contact：AnnPhone: 021-65650305Em₩∞ail：Marketing@zenseegroup.coσ mhttp://en.zenseegroup$ &.com/p/510934