SAN DIEGO, Feb. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Aspen Neuroscience, Inc., a private biotechnology company developing induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPSC)-derived cell therapies, announced that Lisa Johnson-Pratt, MD has joined the company’s executive management team in a new role as Senior Vice President, Therapeutic Program Lead.
An industry leader with more than 25 years of experience, Dr. Johnson-Pratt will guide therapeutic development for ANPD001, the first autologous neuron replacement to treat Parkinson’s disease (PD), and new product strategy for Aspen.
“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Johnson-Pratt to Aspen Neuroscience,” said Damien McDevitt, PhD, Aspen Neuroscience president and chief executive officer. “As we prepare to enter the clinic with our first-in-human trial for Parkinson’s disease, we are deepening our investment in the company’s development. Lisa is a proven life cycle leader with a strong track record of advancing therapies through early and late-stage development to support compelling value propositions and successful commercialization.”
“It is an honor to lead the development of ANPD001,” said Dr. Johnson-Pratt. “With iPSC-derived cell therapies, we have an opportunity to bring a novel approach to patients and the medical field, representing a leap forward in the personalized medicine space. I am excited to join this experienced and committed team to investigate how cell replacement therapies can impact the lives of people with Parkinson’s disease, a challenging degenerative condition and the second most common neurological disorder after Alzheimer’s disease.”
A senior drug development, clinical and commercial expert, Lisa has successfully led programs across the entire product life cycle, including in medical affairs, clinical development, product development, portfolio planning and new product strategy for organizations from small biotechs to large pharmaceutical companies, including as the Global Dermatology Portfolio Leader, for Merck, head of Global Commercial Pharma Centers of Excellence and head of Early Pipeline Commercial Strategy for GSK, and the head of New Product Strategy for Akcea Therapeutics and Ionis Pharmaceuticals. Lisa is a board director at Assembly Bio and Tracon Pharma, and is the board chair of Young People in Recovery.
Dr. Johnson-Pratt received her Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Medicine degrees from Howard University, with further post-doctoral training in Internal Medicine, Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Medicine.
About ANPD001
ANPD001 is an investigational cell therapy product being studied as an autologous neuron replacement for Parkinson’s disease. Aspen’s personalized 3-step manufacturing approach starts from a small sample of the patient’s own skin cells, followed by reprogramming to induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) and then differentiation into dopaminergic neuron precursors (DANPCs). These DANPCs are then provided to the patient via surgery to replace their cells that were lost or damaged due to disease. The quality of each person’s cells is assessed at every manufacturing stage using Aspen’s proprietary machine learning-based genomics tests.
About Aspen Neuroscience
Headquartered in San Diego, Aspen Neuroscience, Inc. is a clinical development-stage, private company focused on autologous regenerative medicine. The company’s patient-derived iPSC platform is used to create personalized cell therapies to address diseases with high unmet medical needs, beginning with autologous neuron replacement for Parkinson’s disease.
Aspen combines stem cell biology with the latest machine learning and genomic approaches to investigate patient-specific, restorative cell treatments. The company has developed a best-in-class platform to create and optimize pluripotent-derived cell therapies, which includes in-house bioinformatics, manufacturing and QC. For more information and important updates, please visit https://www.aspenneuroscience.com.
