LEADING

a remarkable difference in scientific discovery

LEADING

a remarkable difference in scientific discovery

A HISTORY OF EVOLUTION, OPPORTUNITY & INSPIRATION

FCTDI was founded in 2008 and subsequently received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health, together with a Principal Investigator at the Fox Chase Cancer Center. Originally named Fox Chase Chemical Diversity Center, the company has since added pharmacology and diversified and broadened its service offerings.

The company has since obtained numerous grants and funding from a variety of sources, including the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, private foundations, and sponsored research. Our newly branded name, Fox Chase Therapeutics Discovery, Inc. (FCTDI), represents our broader service offering and our continued mission to discover and advance new compounds into therapy.

Today, FCTDI is located at the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center (PBC) in Doylestown, PA, and is affiliated with the Pennsylvania Drug Discovery Institute. The PBC is a 150,000 square foot campus that houses nonprofit research organizations and commercial start-up companies in the same facility, located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, just north of Philadelphia.

EXTENSIVE RESOURCES

FCTDI employs approximately 28 trained researchers with extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry. FCTDI has 20+ issued United States patents during our tenure. FCTDI scientists have published more than 30 scientific publications often in collaboration with external researchers. Remarkably, FCTDI has received funding from eight of the institutes of the National Institutes of Health showing the breadth of the therapeutic targets for which we have conducted research.

Many of our PhD researchers serve as independent project leaders working with collaboration partners and taking advantage of the resources at the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center. We are fully staffed and equipped with 400-MHz NMR, over 34,000 reagents and starting materials, multiple mass spectrometers, and other equipment needed to perform modern drug discovery research.

Our laboratory space is fully equipped to meet a range of synthesis and analysis requirements, including:

400 MHz NMR, multinuclear probe capability
Four LC/MS
Two microwave synthesizers (MAOS)
Multiple chromatography systems
Instrumentation for Dynamic Light Scattering, Circular Dichroism, and Cytation Imaging
BL2 bio, glassware, balances, vacuum pumps, ovens, platform shakers, pipettors, and more
Access to other shared equipment at the PDDI and PBC

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EXTENSIVE RESOURCES

Our laboratory space is fully equipped to meet a range of synthesis and analysis requirements, including:

400 MHz NMR, multinuclear probe capability
Four LC/MS
Two microwave synthesizers (MAOS)
Multiple chromatography systems
Instrumentation for Dynamic Light Scattering, Circular Dichroism, and Cytation Imaging
BL2 bio, glassware, balances, vacuum pumps, ovens, platform shakers, pipettors, and more
Access to other shared equipment at the PDDI and PBC

WATCH VIDEO

FCTDI LEADERSHIP TEAM

ALLEN B. REITZ, PH.D.

Chief Executive Officer and founder FCTDI

Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California at San Diego
Executive Master’s in Technology Management from the University of Pennsylvania (The Wharton School and Penn Engineering)
Worked at Johnson & Johnson for nearly 26 years
Co-inventor & Team Leader for nine compounds in human clinical trials including mazapertine and troriluzole, currently in Phase II clinical trials
Founded several biotechnology companies, including FCTDI

Full Bio

ANDREW COLE, PH.D.

Vice President, Medicinal Chemistry

Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of St. Andrews
>25 Years of Medicinal Chemistry experience in the pharmaceutical industry
Advanced seven drug candidates into human clinical trials
48 Scientific publications and >50 issued patents and patent applications

Full Bio

STEPHEN MACOR

Vice President, Finance

B.S. degree in Accounting from Gwynedd Mercy University
Accounting experience in midsize companies, annual gross revenue $500M+
Specializes in financial analysis, planning, and reporting
Manages business development and grants administration

Full Bio

JAY E. WROBEL, PH.D.

Vice President, Academic Relations

Many years of successful experience as a discovery medicinal chemist in the pharmaceutical industry
At Wyeth, directly involved in bringing forward nine development track candidates (Phase 0 and beyond) in a variety of therapeutic areas
At FCTDI, has been PI or Key Personnel on 17 SBIR/STTR funded grants
Co-authored 79 scientific publications and is an inventor on 84 issued US patents

Full Bio

MARK E. MCDONNELL, PH.D.

Director of Chemistry

Over 30 years of experience in Medicinal Chemistry
Experience in Big Pharma, Biotech and Academic Collaborations
Principal Investigator on NIH funded grants
Inventor and coauthor of over 50 patents and publications

Full Bio

KATIE B. FREEMAN, PH.D.

Director of Biology

Dr. Freeman has a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Virginia and has over 25 years in the drug discovery industry with experience in antimicrobials, cardiovascular and neurobiology
Dr. Freeman has been instrumental in growing our in-house biology expertise, developing multiple in vitro assays on varied platforms to support SAR and compound mechanism of action studies
Dr. Freeman is an author on more than 25 papers and is an inventor on 7 US patents

Full Bio

JOHN L. KULP, III, PH.D.

Director of Computational Chemistry

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Computational methods (Schrodinger software)
Computational fragment-based drug design
Protein structure determination (AlphaFold)

Full Bio

BOARD OF ADVISORS

JEFFREY C. PELLETIER, PH.D.

Former Director of Chemistry, FCTDI

Full Bio

KATHLEEN CZUPICH, MBA

Former Chief Financial Officer, FCTDI

Full Bio

MATTHEW TODD, PH.D.

Founder, Biophysical-Solutions, Inc.

Full Bio

MELISSA EGBERTSON, PH.D.

Retired – Merck Sharp & Dohme

Full Bio

NICHOLAS A. MEANWELL, PH.D.

Retired – Bristol-Myers Squibb

Full Bio

PATRICK LAM, PH.D.

President, Lam Drug Discovery Consulting, LLC

Full Bio

RICHARD W. SCOTT, PH.D.

Former VP, Research, FCTDI

Full Bio

SCOTT RAWLS, PH.D.

Professor, Temple University

Full Bio

Allen B. Reitz, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Reitz has had >42 years of demonstrated accomplishment as a medicinal chemist in the pharmaceutical industry, including nearly 26 years with Johnson & Johnson. For 16 years at the Spring House, Pennsylvania facility of Johnson & Johnson he led the medicinal chemistry research effort in the diseases of the central nervous system for both psychiatry and neurology.

Dr. Reitz is co-inventor as well as Team Leader, in most cases, for nine compounds that have entered human clinical trials, including mazapertine and troriluzole, currently in Phase II/III clinical trials. He has >180 scientific publications and 82 issued U.S. patents and was the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry for 20 years. He has extensive experience in project and portfolio management, target validation, hit triage, hit to lead, and lead optimization medicinal chemistry, eADME profiling, and preclinical candidate selection.

Dr. Reitz also holds an Executive Master’s in Technology Management from the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton, Penn Engineering) and is a Moore Fellow in the Management of Technology (U. Penn.). He is also a founder and CEO of ALS Biopharma, LLC, focusing on the neurological condition of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Contact: areitz@fctdi.com

Andrew Cole, Ph.D.

Dr. Cole is an accomplished research leader with more than 25 years of Medicinal Chemistry experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He has held positions of increasing responsibility at Pharmacopeia, Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Pharmasset and most recently, as Vice President of Chemistry, at Arbutus Biopharma. He has broad discovery chemistry experience in multiple therapeutic areas including infectious disease, oncology, inflammatory disease and neurological disease resulting in seven small-molecule drug candidates advancing into human clinical trials. Dr. Cole received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of St. Andrews and completed his postdoctoral training at The University of Texas at Austin. He is an author on 48 peer-reviewed scientific publications and an inventor on >50 issued patents and patent applications. Contact: acole@fctdi.com

Stephen Macor, Vice President, Finance

With close to 10 years of experience in the accounting field, Stephen brings a wealth of expertise in financial analysis, planning, and reporting. Their background includes a strong track record in financial forecasting, risk management, and optimizing financial performance. Since joining FCTDI, Stephen has added administrative and grant management to his skill set. Stephen holds a B.S. degree in Accounting from Gwynedd Mercy University. He is passionate about fostering financial health and sustainability, and plays a crucial role in shaping the company’s financial strategy and ensuring its long-term success.

Jay E. Wrobel, Ph.D., Vice President, Academic Relations

Dr. Wrobel has spent 40 years as a medicinal chemist in the pharmaceutical industry, 26 years at Wyeth (later Pfizer), with his last position as Senior Director of Medicinal Chemistry at the Collegeville, PA facility. At Wyeth he mentored and guided the efforts of 31 Ph.D./M.S. medicinal chemists and worked successfully with outside alliance partners. He was directly involved in bringing forward nine development track candidates (Phase 0 and beyond) in a variety of therapeutic areas. At FCTDI, Jay is specifically responsible for developing new collaborative research relationships, obtaining funding for early-stage opportunities in drug discovery and development, and guiding and directing the medicinal chemistry aspects of funded projects. At FCTDI, Jay has been PI or Key Personnel on 17 SBIR/STTR funded grants. He has co-authored 79 scientific publications and is an inventor on 84 issued US patents. Contact: jwrobel@fctdi.com.

Mark E. McDonnell, PH.D., Director of Chemistry

Dr. McDonnell is a Medicinal Chemist who has been with FCTDI for >14 years. Prior to FCTDI, he worked at Johnson & Johnson for 18 years where he learned a repertoire of drug discovery skills and ultimately co-led a project team. While at FCTDI Dr. McDonnell has contributed to advancing three New Chemical Entities into human clinical trials. He serves as a Principal Investigator on a Phase II SBIR-funded project directed to the discovery of new treatments for Chagas disease. He is on the Editorial Advisory Board of Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry and has >50 publications and issued U.S. patents. Dr. McDonnell has experience working in multiple therapeutic areas, HTS hit triage, hit to lead optimization, fragment-based discovery, and small molecule drug conjugates (SMDCs). Mark leads research collaborations with researchers at Duke University, The Wistar Institute, and other FCTDI partners. Contact: mmcdonnell@fctdi.com.

Dr. Katie B. Freeman, Director of Biology

Dr. Freeman has spent over 25 years in the drug discovery industry with experience in antimicrobials, cardiovascular and neurobiology. She has a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Virginia and, following a postdoc at Columbia University, began her career at GlaxoSmithKline in the model organism drug discovery group. Moving to biotech she joined PolyMedix where she helped to develop non-peptidic mimics of host defense proteins for infectious disease and cardiovascular disorders. Dr. Freeman has been at Fox Chase Therapeutics Discovery, Inc. for ten years and has helped to grow the company’s biological expertise in compound discovery and development. She has helped to identify and develop a novel antifungal and develop multiple in vitro assays on varied platforms to support SAR and compound mechanism of action studies. She is author on more than 25 papers and is an inventor on 7 US patents. Contact: kfreeman@fctdi.com

John L. Kulp III, Ph.D.

Dr. John L. Kulp III is the Director of Computational Chemistry at FCTDI and also the Chief Executive Officer of Conifer Point Pharmaceuticals which he founded in 2014. He has a Ph.D. in Chemistry from New York University with a background is in the field of bioorganic chemistry with specialization in (i) protein nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) structure determination, (ii) computational methods for studying protein structure, (iii) synthetic peptide chemistry, (iv) computational fragment-based drug design and, most recently, (v) application of artificial intelligence and machine learning to drug discovery. His Ph.D. work, in part, focused on stabilizing α-helical peptides for development as a new class of drug molecules and the study of peptide/protein structure by NMR. During his postdoctoral training at the Naval Research Laboratory, he developed peptide nanopores as stochastic sensing elements and patented a new class of β-helical peptide architectures. After completing his postdoctoral fellowship, he was hired as a federal staff scientist where he helped develop a program to study biointerfaces. In 2010, Dr. Kulp joined BioLeap, a small business that specializes in protein-protein interactions and that has a proprietary fragment-based computational chemistry software platform.

Jeffrey C. Pelletier, Ph.D., Former Director of Chemistry, FCTDI

With over 35 years of experience Dr. Pelletier has had leadership positions at large pharmaceutical companies (Wyeth-Pfizer, Rhone Poulenc Rorer), start-up companies (Symphony Pharmaceuticals, Fox Chase Therapeutics Discovery, Neurokine Therapeutics, LLC) and academics (Northwestern University). In each environment he has discovered/co-discovered, and moved into development, novel small molecules for the treatment of various disorders such as prostate cancer, epilepsy, melanoma, and neurodegeneration. This includes a recent invention, Troriluzole (previously FC-4157 and BHV-4157), a glutamate modulator that is in Phase II/III clinical trials for the treatment of spinocerebellar ataxia and obsessive compulsive disorder. Dr. Pelletier has led large medicinal chemistry teams as well as chemical development teams to transition multiple inventions to development phase.

Kathleen Czupich, M.B.A., Former Chief Financial Officer, FCTDI

Ms. Czupich has over 25 years of experience in business development. Prior to joining FCTDI Ms. Czupich was the founding administrator, CFO and Director of Finance of the PA Biotechnology Center, Institute for Hepatitis and Virus Research and the Hepatitis B Foundation and was point of contact for all NIH grants and other government funding. Ms. Czupich holds a B.S. degree in Accounting from the Pennsylvania State University and an M.B.A. from Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA. Ms. Czupich’s strengths are in designing financial reporting systems, managing large projects and training staff. She is experienced in indirect cost requirements and negotiation as well as government accounting standards and audit requirements. Contact: kczupich@fctdi.com.

Matthew Todd, Ph.D.

Matthew Todd received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Michigan State University, under the direction of Dr. Robert Hausinger. He then trained with Dr. George Lorimer (protein folding) and Dr. Ernesto Freire (Calorimetry and Biophysics) before joining 3-Dimensional Pharmaceuticals, where he developed ThermoFluor technology and led HTS efforts. Dr. Todd joined Johnson & Johnson on their purchase of 3DP, where he was Director of Lead Discovery for over 10 years, championing label-free technologies in early drug discovery. He has founded BioPhysical-Solutions, Inc., a startup biotech company offering label-free biophysical testing services where his capabilities and expertise overlaps client needs.

Melissa Egbertson, Ph.D.

Melissa Egbertson received her Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Yale University under the direction of Sam Danishefsky. Her 25-year career in Medicinal Chemistry at the Merck West Point site included a variety of therapeutic areas, including Cardiology, Infectious Diseases, and Neuroscience. She is one of four inventors of the drug Aggrastat® (tirofiban), a fibrinogen receptor antagonist currently used worldwide in the treatment of acute coronary syndrome and was a key contributor in the team that created Isentress®, the first-in-class HIV-integrase inhibitor. As a Director in Exploratory Chemistry, she led several teams that prepared neuroscience projects for Lead Optimization. Currently retired from Merck, she works as a chemistry consultant to an exploratory program at Rockefeller University and is an adjunct professor in the Drexel School of Medicine Pharmacology Department.

Nicholas A. Meanwell, Ph.D.

After completing a post-doctoral fellowship with Professor Carl R. Johnson at Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, he joined Bristol-Myers Squibb where he has led drug discovery programs in the cardiovascular, neurosciences and virology therapeutic areas, work that has resulted in the advancement of over 30 clinical candidates for the prevention of thrombosis, the treatment of stroke and therapy for viral infections, including human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Significant compounds advanced into therapy include daclatasvir (Daklinza™), a pioneering molecule that established NS5A inhibition as a clinically relevant target, and the HCV NS3 protease inhibitor asunaprevir (Sunvepra™), which incorporates the cyclopropyl acylsulfonamide moiety that has been widely adopted.

Patrick Lam, Ph.D.

Patrick Lam is currently a Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Baruch S. Blumberg Institute and Adjunct Professor at Drexel University College of Medicine. He is the president of Lam Drug Discovery Consulting, LLC. He retired from a chemistry director position at Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. in 2011. Dr. Lam has more than 30 years of extensive experience in innovation in structure-based drug design, ADME-T, focused libraries, molecular recognition, and nucleic acid therapeutics to deliver biopharma clinical candidates with novel profiles. He is responsible for the discovery of a total of eight clinical candidates. At Bristol-Myers Squibb, Dr. Lam was the group leader/co-inventor responsible for the discovery of Eliquis®/Apixaban, a novel Factor Xa anticoagulant with annual sales of >$2 B. He and his team were awarded 2015 American Chemical Society Heroes of Chemistry Award for the discovery of Eliquis®.

Richard W. Scott, Ph.D., Former Vice President, Research

Dr. Scott has a strong background in preclinical research and drug development. He led a research team at PolyMedix, Inc. for over 10 years investigating small molecule mimics of host defense proteins (HDP mimics) as anti-infective and immune modulatory agents. In his current position as Vice President of Research at Fox Chase Therapeutic Discovery, Inc., he has led research programs in several therapeutic indications involving anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal targets. During his 38-year career in the pharmaceutical industry, he has leadership experience in many areas of research and drug development including target identification, lead identification and optimization, mechanism of action, in vitro safety, animal efficacy and safety, ADME, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, GLP toxicology and intellectual property protection. Furthermore, has served as the PI or co-PI on numerous (19) NIH grants and Department of Defense grants and contracts. Contact: rscott@fctdi.com.

Scott Rawls, Professor, Temple University

Dr. Rawls has 28 years of demonstrated accomplishment as a pharmacologist and neuroscientist in academic science, including over two decades at Temple University in Philadelphia. Dr. Rawls has led pharmacological research efforts in diseases of the central nervous system including pain and drug addiction. In particular, he has investigated roles for glutamate and neuroimmune systems in adverse effects of opioids and psychostimulants. Dr. Rawls has published approximately 140 peer-reviewed articles on these and related topics. Highlights of Dr. Rawls’ research include preclinical characterization of the β-lactamase inhibitor clavulanic acid as a glutamate transporter subtype 1 (GLT-1) enhancer that reduces cocaine intake and reinforcing efficacy. This preclinical work has resulted in clavulanic acid being currently tested in a NIH-funded clinical trial for cocaine use disorder. Dr. Rawls’ group was also one of the first to characterize effects of designer drugs called novel psychoactive substances (NPS), with a particular emphasis on ‘bath salt’ synthetic cathinones such as mephedrone and MDPV (methylenedioxypyrovalerone). More recent work has been directed toward preclinical characterization of (1) chemokine receptor antagonists (CRAs) as biphasic opioid function modulators (BOFMs) that both enhance opioid analgesia and reduce adverse opioid effects and (2) troriluzole (TRLZ), a dual glutamate release inhibitor/transport activator and prodrug of FDA-approved riluzole, for psychostimulant and opioid addiction. Dr. Rawls is also active in science educational outreach and teaching. He started a NIH-funded program called Science Education Against Drug Abuse Partnership (SEADAP), which includes a curriculum for elementary, middle and high school students that uses flatworms called planarians to teach the science of drug addiction. Dr. Rawls has also won numerous teaching awards (e.g., Mary DeLeo Prize, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, Golden Apple, Dawn Marks Award).