Dr Annalisa Jenkins and Lord Michael Grade Appointed as Advisors to AKL Research & Development

STEVENAGE, England, December 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Appointments bolster team dedicated to bringing osteoarthritis drug to market

AKL Research and Development (AKLRD), a company developing an investigational osteoarthritis (OA) medicine, today announces the appointment of Dr Annalisa Jenkins and Lord Michael Grade as advisors.

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Dr Jenkins is former Head of Global Research & Development and Executive Vice President Global Development & Medical at Merck Serono. Lord Grade is former Chairman of the BBC.

Current Chief Operating Officer (COO) of AKLRD David Miles has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer (CEO), replacing previous CEO David Sharples who becomes Chairman. Clinical Scientist Alan Reynolds, who has extensive experience in inflammation and autoimmune disease treatments, has taken the role of Chief Science Officer (CSO).

The new appointments and change of roles come as AKL enters its next phase of bringing its investigational medicine APPA to market. Currently in Phase I clinical trials at Liverpool University, APPA is an NFkB and Nrf2 modulator which harnesses the power of two secondary metabolites of plant origin in a fully synthetic oral therapy and is a potential novel treatment for OA.

Dr Jenkins says: "Osteoarthritis is a condition which causes significant pain and disability every day for millions of people across the world. With few effective treatments available, APPA has the potential to offer meaningful improvements and new opportunities for people living with the disease. AKLRD is dedicated to novel approaches to drug development through collaborations with companies which are embracing innovation with the shared common purpose of improving the lives of patients globally. I am excited to join AKLRD at this crucial time."

Speaking about his advisory role, Lord Grade says: "This is an exciting time for everyone at AKLRD, both in terms of APPA's development and the company's pioneering approach to identifying new medicines. I am delighted to help bring this important drug to market."

New CEO of AKLRD, David Miles, says: "We are extremely pleased to welcome both Annalisa and Michael as advisors at such an important time in the development of APPA, our investigational treatment for osteoarthritis. The pioneering nature of AKL's drug development fits particularly well with the expertise and reputation in business of both our new advisors and I know that their depth of knowledge and experience will continue to drive us forward during this important phase."