Chase Pharmaceuticals Appoints Douglas Ingram as Chief Executive Office

WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Chase Pharmaceuticals Corporation (Chase), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of improved treatments for neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s disease, announced today that Douglas S. Ingram has joined the company as Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors, effective immediately. Mr. Ingram replaces John Siebert, who will continue as a senior advisor to the company.

Chase has three compounds in clinical development: CPC-201, nearing the end of its Phase 2 trial and CPC-212 and CPC-250, both of which have successfully completed Phase 1 development. These compounds are next-generation Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitor (AChEI) formulations for the symptomatic treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

Mr. Ingram brings nearly 20 years of biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device leadership to Chase. Most recently, and until its acquisition by Actavis in the first quarter of this year, he was President of Allergan, Inc., a global pharmaceutical company with franchises in Neurosciences, Urology, Ophthalmology and Medical Aesthetics. Previously, Mr. Ingram was President of Allergan’s operations in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; earlier at Allergan was responsible for building and leading numerous aspects of the global organization including Regulatory Affairs and Pharmacovigilance, Legal Affairs, Information Technology, Public Relations and External Communication, Human Resources, Audit and Compliance.

“Alzheimer’s disease is one of the greatest unmet medical needs in the US, Japan, Europe and China. Chase offers an exciting and promising opportunity to significantly reduce the burden of this horrible disease,” said Greg Parekh, PhD, Chairman of Chase Pharmaceuticals, investment partner at New Rhein Healthcare and former head of M&A at Novartis AG. “Doug has a proven track record of disruptive approaches, building strong teams and delivering above-market performance. With his track record, diverse background and commitment to excellence, I am confident that Doug will successfully develop Chase to its fullest potential. I would also like to thank John for helping bring Chase to where it is today and am pleased he will continue to support us in an advisory capacity.”

“I am privileged to lead Chase Pharmaceuticals as we execute an elegant approach to the development of new Alzheimer’s treatments, one that offers to profoundly improve the treatment of this serious disease,” said Mr. Ingram. “There have been scant improvements in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease in the last two decades, leaving patients and their physicians with few treatment choices and little hope. CPC-201 offers the possibility of significantly improving the performance of the gold standard treatment of Alzheimer’s disease while reducing many of the development risks associated with past R&D approaches. Our goal is to build a strong CNS biopharmaceutical company to improve the lives of the millions of patients and their families burdened by this devastating disease. We have an important mission and I am excited to play a leadership role in this journey.”

Alzheimer’s, a neurodegenerative disease that profoundly impacts the lives of sufferers and their families, has become a major healthcare crisis in the United States and much of the world. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, 1 in 9 older Americans – representing over 5 million patients – has Alzheimer’s disease and its prevalence is only increasing, with a new patient diagnosed approximately every 1 minute in the US. Patients are robbed of their quality of life and cognition, and the cost to the US healthcare system and the economy is enormous, calculated in the hundreds of billions of dollars today.

While attention and research continues into Alzheimer’s disease, new treatment improvements for the patients have been few and its symptomatic treatment remains one of the most underserved medical needs in healthcare.

About Chase

Chase Pharmaceuticals Corporation is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of improved treatments for neurodegenerative disorders. Chase’s development programs, if successful, will profoundly improve the symptomatic treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Chase’s lead candidate, CPC-201, is a patent protected, fixed-dose combination of one of the few pharmaceuticals proven to improve cognition and behavioral symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s disease, donepezil (an AChEI), paired with a complementary peripherally acting cholinergic blocker. Chase hypothesizes that CPC-201 will improve tolerability by reducing major dose-limiting side effects of donepezil, allowing significant increases in dosing and resulting in greatly improved efficacy. In addition, this approach eliminates or reduces a number of the risks inherent in CNS research and development by improving the efficacy of the current standard-of-care treatment for Alzheimer’s disease and employing known drug candidates with established mechanisms of action, proven clinical value and known safety profiles.

Chase has successfully completed four Phase 1 studies on CPC-201, CPC-212 and CPC-250. The company is currently completing its Phase 2 trial of CPC-201 in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. The Phase 2 program will establish whether the CPC-201 combination enables significant escalation of donepezil dosing while managing dose-limiting side effects. The CPC-201 Phase 2 trial will be completed and data available in the first half of 2016. Assuming the dose escalation hypothesis is established, Chase’s goal is to commence its Phase 3 registration study for CPC-201 in 2016.

Chase Pharmaceuticals is led by industry veterans who have an extensive track record in developing and successfully launching life-changing medicines.