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Lumos Pharma Appoints John C. McKew, Ph.D. Chief Scientific Officer

Austin, Texas – April 20, 2016 – Lumos Pharma, Inc. a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on bringing novel therapies to patients with unmet medical needs in severe, rare, and genetic diseases, announced that John C. McKew, Ph.D. has joined the company as its Chief Scientific Officer.

“John is one of the most well-known and respected leaders in the rare disease space,” said Rick Hawkins, founder and CEO of Lumos Pharma.  “His foundational work at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in developing the Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Disease (TRND) alone qualify him to play a pivotal role in our company with the development of LUM-001 to treat Creatine Transporter Deficiency (CTD), and other therapies in our pipeline.”

Dr. McKew most recently served as Vice President of Research for aTyr Pharma where he was responsible for leading research aimed at harnessing the therapeutic potential of tRNA synthetases. Prior to aTyr Pharma, he was acting Scientific Director of the Division of Preclinical Innovation at the NCATS/NIH. There, he was responsible for developing the TRND and the Bridging Interventional Development Gaps (BrIDGs) programs. Before his time at NIH, Dr. McKew was a director at Wyeth Research and began his career at Genetics Institute, Inc.

“I’m excited to join the experienced team at Lumos Pharma,” said Dr. McKew.”I relish the opportunity to source and develop novel therapeutics for patients suffering from rare diseases with such a talented group of co-workers.”

 

About Creatine Transporter Deficiency  

CTD, a relatively new and rare disorder, is thought to be the second most common cause of X- linked intellectual disability and developmental delay after Fragile X Syndrome. Boys generally present with speech delays, seizure disorders and behavioral issues. Many are misdiagnosed with autism.

Lumos Pharma’s LUM-001 is being developed to treat CTD. It has been granted orphan status in the US and is in preclinical development in partnership with scientists at the NCATS, part of the NIH, through its TRND program.

 

About Lumos Pharma

Founded in 2011, Lumos Pharma is focused on bringing novel therapies to patients afflicted with unmet medical needs in severe, rare, and genetic diseases. Lumos Pharma is led by an experienced management team with longstanding experience in the rare disease space.