Tech Talk 2021 | a2Tech360 | Roger Newton, Espervita Therapeutics, Inc.

Описание: Roger Newton
Espervita Therapeutics, Inc.

Roger Newton has worked for 40+ years in the pharmaceutical and biotech life sciences industries. He is formerly the executive chairman and CSO, and also founder, president/CEO, and director of Esperion Therapeutics, Inc., which has its business offices in Ann Arbor. Prior to these appointments, Roger was senior vice president, Pfizer Global R&D, and director, Esperion Therapeutics, a Pfizer, Inc. company.

He was co-founder, president/CEO of the original Esperion founded in July 1998. Under Roger’s leadership and the team’s effort, Esperion built a portfolio of mechanism-based biopharmaceuticals focusing on HDL therapy and small molecule lipid regulating agents. Esperion was acquired by Pfizer for $1.3 billion in February 2004 (13x cash on cash return) and operated as a separate unit within Pfizer until its closure in May 2007. Pfizer then divested Esperion in May 2008 and Roger restarted the company as an independent enterprise.

Roger and the Esperion team raised enough equity financing and venture capital to develop Nexletol (bempedoic acid) from preclinical to FDA approval in February 2020. Nexletol is a novel, oral LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) lowering drug, which lowers LDL-C by an average of 18% without an increased risk of muscle pain and weakness as observed with statin drugs. Nexletol can be used with statins in patients who cannot reach their LDL-C goal because of muscle pain and weakness at higher doses. Bempedoic acid in combination with ezetimibe (Nexlizet), which also received FDA approval in February 2020, can be used to produce an average of 38% lowering of LDL-C. Prior to founding the original Esperion, Roger was with Warner Lambert/Parke-Davis from 1981-1998. As a Distinguished Research Fellow and Chairman of the Atherosclerosis Drug Discovery Team, he co-discovered and was the product champion of what is now the largest selling and most prescribed cholesterol-reducing drug in the world, atorvastatin (Lipitor®).

Roger began his career as a translational basic scientist with a focus on treating and preventing atherosclerosis (Cholesterol and Lipoprotein Metabolism) during his postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California San Diego at LaJolla. Roger has a Ph.D. in Nutrition Science (Lipid Metabolism) from the University of California, Davis, a Master of Science degree (Nutritional Biochemistry) from the University of Connecticut, and a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in Biology from Lafayette College. During his research career, he has co-authored over one hundred peer-reviewed scientific articles and chapters.

Roger serves or has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Espervita, Esperovax, and Esperion Therapeutics, Celsee Diagnostics, Swift Biosciences, and Rubicon Genomics. He has also served as President and Board Director of the American College of Nutrition, and a member of the National Advisory Boards of the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center, Life Sciences Institute, and Taubman Medical Research Institute. Roger also currently participates as an Executive-in-Residence in the Center for Positive Organizations in the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan interacting with students, staff, faculty, and alumni.