NEW YORK – BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: BCLI), a leading developer of cellular therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, today announced executive appointments as the company prepares for future growth. Sidney A. Spector, MD, PhD, was named Senior Vice President Global Strategy and Medical Affairs and Kim Thacker, MD, was named Senior Vice President, Medical Affairs and Clinical Innovation. BrainStorm also has expanded the responsibilities of Stacy Lindborg, PhD, Executive Vice President, appointing her to the new position of Chief Development Officer.
These appointments mark an investment in accelerating BrainStorm’s progress. Reporting to Ralph Kern, MD, MHSc, President and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Spector and Dr. Thacker will work together to create a formal global Medical Affairs function as the company prepares for anticipated growth. As Chief Development Officer, Dr. Lindborg will build a leadership team required for development and regulatory affairs to support clinical development in multiple disease areas and technologies. She continues to report to Chaim Lebovits, Chief Executive Officer of BrainStorm.
“We are at a pivotal juncture in the history of BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics,” said Mr. Lebovits. “Sid and Kim bring a rich combination of scientific expertise and experience that will be invaluable as we seek potential paths for regulatory approval of NurOwn® and advance our development portfolio of innovative treatments, as we continue to add new leaders with capabilities to complement our already strong team.”
Dr. Spector, a physician and scientist with extensive experience in the development of innovative medicines, is Clinical Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. Prior to BrainStorm, he was Vice President of U.S. Medical Affairs at AveXis prior to the company’s acquisition by Novartis, and remained at Novartis as medical director of clinical development, regulatory submission and launch of Zolgenzma, a gene replacement therapy for spinal muscular atrophy. Dr. Spector was also clinical lead responsible for management of Asia/Pacific clinical development and regulatory submissions in Japan.. Earlier in his career, he held senior roles in CNS drug development at Elan Pharmaceuticals and Pfizer Inc. Dr. Spector earned his medical degree at the University of Tel Aviv Sackler School of Medicine, and his PhD in Kinesiological Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles. He completed post-doctoral fellowships at the National Institutes of Health, NINCDS in Neuromuscular Diseases and Neurokinesiology.
Dr. Spector stated: “I’ve committed my career to developing medicines that have a meaningful impact on patients’ lives. I am impressed by BrainStorm’s development of such important, potentially best-in-class autologous cellular therapeutics for the treatment of highly debilitating neurodegenerative diseases.”
Dr. Thacker is a neurologist, executive and patient advocate with more than twenty years of experience in pharma and biotech. Prior to joining BrainStorm, she was Vice President, Medical Affairs at Urogen Pharma. She also held senior roles at Mesoblast, Forest Research Institute, Sanofi Aventis, Pfizer and Roche Laboratories. She has a successful track record in innovation to support the advancement of human health, particularly related to eldercare and neuroscience and making a meaningful difference in healthcare. She has expertise in clinical development and launches, health economics and outcomes research, neuroethics and neurotechnology and compliance, including multiple publications and 12 product launches. Dr. Thacker earned her medical degree at the State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn. She served an internship in Internal Medicine at Danbury Hospital and residency in Adult Neurology at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, becoming Chief Resident. She also has received training in Bioethics at Columbia University. Dr. Thacker is a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine.
Dr. Thacker commented: “I am excited to join BrainStorm’s leadership team during such a transformational period for the Company. BrainStorm’s unique approaches to the treatment of ALS, MS and other highly debilitating neurodegenerative diseases is grounded in breakthrough scientific innovation.”
About BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.
BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. is a leading developer of innovative autologous adult stem cell therapeutics for debilitating neurodegenerative diseases. The Company holds the rights to clinical development and commercialization of the NurOwn® technology platform used to produce autologous MSC-NTF cells through an exclusive, worldwide licensing agreement. Autologous MSC-NTF cells have received Orphan Drug designation status from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). BrainStorm has completed a Phase 3 pivotal trial in ALS (NCT03280056); this trial investigated the safety and efficacy of repeat-administration of autologous MSC-NTF cells and was supported by a grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM CLIN2-0989). BrainStorm completed under an investigational new drug application a Phase 2 open-label multicenter trial (NCT03799718) of autologous MSC-NTF cells in progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) and was supported by a grant from the National MS Society (NMSS).
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.brainstorm-cell.com.
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