Xequel Bio Appoints Veteran Pharmaceutical Executives To Advance Next Stage Of Corporate Growth
Xequel Bio, formerly FirstString Research, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing dermatologic and ophthalmic therapeutics utilizing its patented new chemical entity aCT1 (alpha-Connexin carboxyl-Terminal 1 peptide), announced the appointments of Jerry St. Peter as Chief Executive Officer and Wes Brazell as Chief Financial Officer.
“As we embark on a new corporate phase focused on clinical development and approval of novel treatments, we have brought in two seasoned executives, Jerry St. Peter and Wes Brazell, to lead these efforts,” said Tony Bartsh, Chairman of Xequel’s Board of Directors and partner at Park West Asset Management. “Jerry’s proven track record in building successful, fully integrated biopharmaceutical companies, partnered with Wes’ financial management and operations expertise, provide the right combination to design and execute our strategic transformation. Both Jerry and Wes bring extensive corporate leadership, business development execution and entrepreneurial acumen to Xequel. With these exciting leadership appointments, we have also rebranded the organization from FirstString Research to emphasize our emergence as a growing biopharmaceutical company in late-stage clinical development.”
“It is a pleasure to join Xequel at such a pivotal moment in its evolution,” said Mr. St. Peter, Chief Executive Officer and Board Member. “Our talented team of scientists and clinical development professionals have established a cutting-edge technology platform culminating in a robust pipeline of product candidates backed by strong preclinical and clinical research. We have also created a strong corporate identity under the Xequel Bio name, reflecting our strategic move into the company’s next chapter.”
“Our proprietary aCT1 technology platform provides tremendous opportunity to address unmet needs for patients in dermatologic and ophthalmic treatments. We have multiple, novel late-stage programs with near-term inflection points as well as preclinical research in other valuable target disease states. Wes and I look forward to working with our dedicated team to implement our growth plan, advance our pipeline, deliver meaningful patient outcomes and successful business results,” Mr. St. Peter said.
The company is in the process of developing a new corporate website and updated social media accounts reflecting the Xequel Bio name.
About Xequel’s aCT1 Technology Platform
Xequel Bio’s aCT1 (alpha-Connexin carboxyl-Terminal 1 peptide) technology platform is designed to develop drugs that will enable physicians to better manage a variety of indications involving inflammation and the body’s response to injury. aCT1 is a patented new chemical entity, based on the C-terminal sequence of Connexin43, designed to selectively and reversibly inhibit protein binding of endogenous Connexin43 to key binding partners. Connexin43 plays critical roles in multiple aspects of the injury response, including spread of injury signals, extravasation of immune cells, granulation tissue formation and fibrosis. aCT1’s unique, targeted mechanism of action has been demonstrated to restore the coordination of cellular communication, reinforce junctional integrity and temper excessive inflammatory responses in injured tissues for optimal injury response and tissue repair. aCT1 is currently in clinical development for multiple indications across dermatology and ophthalmology, as well as in ongoing preclinical research in pulmonology.