Darryle D. Schoepp, Ph.D., Former Merck and Eli Lilly Executive, Joins Scientific Advisory Board of Akelos Inc., Biotechnology Company Developing Opioid Alternatives

NEW YORK, February 1, 2023 (Newswire.com) - Akelos Inc., a biotechnology company currently developing and commercializing a novel, non-opioid anti-hyperalgesic drug to treat chronic and neuropathic pain, adds Dr. Darryle D. Schoepp, Ph.D., former SVP, Neuroscience Research Head at Merck and Co., to the Akelos Strategic Advisory Board. Dr. Schoepp joins a prestigious group of advisors at Akelos Inc., which includes Thomas Daschle - Former Senate Majority Leader and Michael Levitt, Ph.D. - a  Nobel Prize winner in chemistry.

Dr. Schoepp recently retired from Merck after 30 years in the pharmaceutical industry. In his most recent role at Merck, he built a pipeline of innovative first-in-class agents for Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, pain/migraine, and schizophrenia. Prior to this, he was VP, Neuroscience Delivery Research at Eli Lilly and Co. where he was a co-discoverer of the compound LY246736 (alvimopan/Entereg(®) a first-in-class peripherally restricted opioid antagonist for post-operative ileus. Dr. Schoepp was the recipient of the 2002 Pharmacia / ASPET Award for Experimental Therapeutics and 2007 Ray Fuller / ASPET Lecturer in Neurosciences in recognition of translational pharmacology work focused on glutamate receptors. He is also a member of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Blueprint Neurotherapeutic Network External Oversight Board.

Dr. Schoepp received his bachelor's degree in Pharmacy from North Dakota State University and his doctoral degree in Pharmacology and Toxicology from West Virginia University.

"We are thrilled to have Dr. Schoepp join our Scientific Advisory Board. As a scientist with over 200 publications (>19,000 citations) and an inventor of 15 US patents, his involvement will elevate our team and raise awareness around the importance of what Akelos is trying to achieve," said Akelos Founder Dr. Steven Fox.

He continued, "We will be relentless until we have commercialized a novel, non-opioid drug to treat chronic and neuropathic pain. Dr. Schoepp's involvement marks an important next step in achieving this near-term goal."

"Having Darryle on the Scientific Advisory Board adds additional deep expertise in the drug development space to an already outstanding group of experts," said Dr. Peter Goldstein, Akelos scientific co-founder and Professor of Anesthesiology at Weill Cornell Medicine. "His leadership in developing Entereg® (alvimopan), a peripherally acting mu-receptor antagonist, dovetails perfectly with our efforts in developing a peripherally restricted HCN1 inhibitor, and we are delighted to have him join us."

Dr. Goldstein is a scientific advisory board member of Akelos, Inc. 

Akelos Inc. is dedicated to developing and commercializing a novel, non-opioid anti-hyperalgesic drug to treat chronic and neuropathic pain, and has entered into a research collaboration with Weill Cornell Medicine aimed at advancing the underlying science.

For more information, please contact:

Akelos Inc.

Dr. Steven Fox, CEO 212-953-1544

Drstevefox@akelosinc.com

About Akelos Inc.

Akelos Inc. is a biopharmaceutical clinical company focused on the translation of innovative science into treatment. The company currently is developing novel non-narcotic drugs for the treatment of neuropathic pain. The goal of Akelos is to address some of today's most pressing areas of unmet needs.

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