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Stayble Therapeutics’ SAB strengthened with two top names

Stayble Therapeutics’ SAB strengthened with two top names

26 January, 2021

Stayble Therapeutics has strengthened its scientific advisory board (SAB) with two knowledgeable and reputable members – Dr Aaron Calodney and Dr Douglas Beall. They will contribute their knowledge and experience within pain management and spine-related issues as well as bring an important US perspective. BioStock contacted the company’s Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) Anders Lehmann regarding the new recruits.

Stayble Therapeutics develops an injectable treatment, STA363, for discogenic back pain. STA363 is currently being evaluated in a phase II clinical study in the Netherlands, Russia, and Spain.

For a company in this phase, it is important to have access to good knowledge and experience. Stayble Therapeutics has therefore recruited two new members to its scientific advisory board – Dr Aaron Calodney and Dr Douglas Beall. Stayble Therapeutics’ CSO Anders Lehmann believes that the new recruitments are an important validation and a recognition of trust in the company’s drug candidate:

»To recruit top experts of this caliber to our scientific advisory board is a recognition of trust in the potential of our technology and drug candidate STA363 from medical key opinion leaders working daily with patients suffering from chronic lower back pain. It is an important validation that we are developing a treatment that is projected to make a significant difference to patients, medical care providers and payors.«

Aaron Calodney

Aaron Calodney – knowledgeable in pain management

Aaron Calodney has a medical degree from the University of Missouri School of Medicine. He has also completed a residency in anaesthesiology as well as an interventional pain management fellowship at the University of Texas Health Science Center.

With a particular interest in treating spinal problems, Calodney is a very suitable member of Stayble Therapeutics’ SAB.

Calodney has held the positions as President of American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP) and Texas Pain Society. Currently, he serves on the advisory board for the World Institute of Pain (WIP) and as a lecturer and examiner for the American Board of Interventional Pain Physicians (ABIPP).

Douglas Beall

Douglas Beall – experienced in clinical studies in back pain

Douglas Beall graduated with a medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1993. He then completed a residency in diagnostic radiology and a fellowship program in musculoskeletal radiology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

Beall is Chief of Operations of The Spine Fracture Institute and Chief of Radiology Services at Clinical Radiology of Oklahoma.

Beall has also been involved in several clinical trials of new treatments in discogenic back pain, something that comes in handy in his new role as a member of Stayble Therapeutics’ SAB.

Strengthening US presence

The task of the scientific advisory board is to provide valuable insights and opinions in order to guide the company through development. The two new members will primarily provide Stayble Therapeutics with important knowledge about back pain, but also new perspectives and ideas.

It was primarily their expertise that led to Beall and Calodney being recruited. However, they will also help Stayble gain a better understanding of the American perspective. The choice of two US-based experts was important since the US is one of Stayble Therapeutics’ key markets, according to the company’s CEO Andreas Gerward:

»We are very excited about Stayble getting more access to international expertise in our research area particularly with a US perspective. Not only is the US a key market for us, but there is an incredible drive for medical innovation that it is key for us to tap into to continue to build a strong scientific presence and, ultimately, increase market interest«

Five knowledgeable SAB members  

Calodney and Beall will complement the three sitting members of the SAB – Dr Björn Strömqvist, Dr Jan-Willem Kallewaard and Jeff F. Doerzbacher.

Strömqvist is chief physician within orthopedics in Lund and Kallewaard is the head of the Pain Department at two Dutch hospitals. Doerzbacher has extensive experience in clinical trials and statistical analysis of study data, as well as experience with regulatory submissions and interactions with the FDA.

 CSO Anders Lehmann comments

Anders Lehmann, Stayble Therapeutics’ CSO

 BioStock has contacted CSO Anders Lehmann to find out more about the new members.

Anders Lehmann, how did you get in contact with the two new SAB members?

– We knew that the US would be an important market for us the further we came in the clinical development with STA363. Therefore, we have for a while had an extra eye on potential experts based in the US with expertise in pain and experience of similar clinical studies that we conduct and have ahead of us.

– We identified them through scientific literature and through their contributions at scientific conferences. These names were also mentioned in discussions with the sitting members of our scientific advisory.

»As we now begin to consider phase III trials, their advice will be invaluable, especially with regard to future studies in the United States.«

What were the decisive factors for choosing Dr Aaron Calodney and Dr Douglas Beall?

– There were mainly two decisive factors. First of all, they are known and respected in the scientific world. Second of all, they have extensive experience of clinical studies in this field.

– Their advice will be very valuable to us when we want to initiate studies in the US and when we need to deal with US-specific regulatory issues. As we now begin to consider phase III trials, their advice will be invaluable, especially with regard to future studies in the United States.

Why do you think these reputable doctors chose to take on the role of scientific advisors for Stayble Therapeutics?

– You never know how opinion leaders will react when you contact them if you have not met them before. I think there are two reasons why they never hesitated. One is that they really believe in our treatment, and the other is that they, as treating physicians, want new and better therapies in order to help their patients.

»I think there are two reasons why they never hesitated. One is that they really believe in our treatment, and the other is that they, as treating physicians, want new and better therapies in order to help their patients.«

How is the scientific advisory board used?

– Our work with the scientific advisory board mainly consists of discussions of specific issues with the Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs). One KOL may have extensive knowledge of what the care chain looks like in different parts of the country, while another KOL may have extensive experience with the regulatory authorities. So, it is important to get an idea of each individual competence profile in order to be able to use their expertise correctly.

– We plan to have bigger meetings with all members present to discuss broader strategic issues. We are keen to work actively and continuously with our KOLs. According to us, the members do not ”sit” on the scientific advisory board, they work in it!

 

The content of BioStock’s news and analyses is independent but the work of BioStock is to a certain degree financed by life science companies. The above article concerns a company from which BioStock has received financing.

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