Oragenics Appoints William “Frank” Peacock MD as Chief Clinical Officer

Dr. Peacock to Oversee Upcoming Phase II Clinical Trial for Treating Concussion in the Emergency Department

SARASOTA, Fla., May 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oragenics, Inc. (NYSE American: OGEN), a company focused on developing unique, intranasal pharmaceuticals for the treatment of neurological disorders, today announced it has appointed Dr. William “Frank” Peacock as its Chief Clinical Officer, who will conduct its anticipated Phase II clinical trial for treating concussion in the Emergency Department (“ED”). Oragenics’ lead drug candidate, ONP-002, is combined with its intranasal device intended for the treatment of mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI), commonly known as concussion, in the field and emergency departments. ONP-002 is a new chemical entity (NCE) designed to target the brain through delivery into the nasal cavity and onward to the brain. A 40-patient Phase I study was completed and showed the drug to be safe and well-tolerated.

Dr. Peacock is currently the Vice Chair for Emergency Medicine Research at Baylor College of Medicine and a past Professor at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. He is also the Principal Investigator of a trial for a company developing blood biomarkers for the identification of concussion in the emergency department, which is analyzing acute blood markers that are elevated after concussion to not only ensure concussion is identified but also as a predictor of potential severity and longer-term complications. Dr. Peacock is a world-renowned speaker and researcher. He has been instrumental in the approval and use of high sensitivity blood troponins for acute coronary syndrome failure in emergency settings, which can be seen in the JAMA Cardiology publication, Efficacy of High-Sensitivity Troponin T in Identifying Very-Low-Risk Patients with Possible Acute Coronary Syndrome, and he is the editor of the first book of “Biomarkers of Traumatic Brain Injury”.

“I am excited to join Oragenics as its Chief Clinical Officer at such an important and pivotal time in the company’s clinical program. I have been involved with concussion care in the emergency department throughout my 30-plus-year career. My role with the HeadSMART blood biomarker trial has shown me that we need biomarkers to trigger a treatment in the ER. We are searching for that treatment, and I am looking forward to testing ONP-002 to help determine if it can improve patient outcomes in our upcoming Phase II clinical trials,” said Dr. Peacock.