New CEO and chairman for Vencerx

 

Robert H. Ring, Ph.D., was appointed CEO and Jeffrey Stevenson was made chairman of the board of directors for Vencerx Therapeutics.

Dr. Ring brings significant expertise to Vencerx that includes CNS drug discovery and development, translational research and patient advocacy. His distinguished career spans pharma, non-profit, venture philanthropy and academia, with leadership roles at Pfizer, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and Autism Speaks. He most recently served as chief science officer at Autism Speaks.

Stevenson is managing partner of VSS, a leading private equity investment firm that invests in the information, business services, healthcare and education industries.

“Rob is a recognized leader in the field of autism research and brings years of experience working at the forefront of therapeutics development for related neurodevelopmental disorders such as Fragile X. We are pleased to have someone with Rob’s experience spearheading our efforts to advance treatments for Fragile X Syndrome and related conditions,” says David Malpass, a founder of Vencerx. “We are also thrilled that Jeff Stevenson will join as Chairman of the Board. He brings strong leadership, a stellar investment career and nearly two decades of involvement in advancing the treatment of Fragile X.”

Regarding Dr. Ring, Stevenson noted: “Rob is an experienced R&D leader with a unique background in the emerging field of neurodevelopmental disorders that makes him ideally suited to lead our ground-breaking efforts ahead at Vencerx.” Adding further, “Ring also brings to Vencerx a deep understanding of the diverse unmet medical needs of patients and their families, the complexities of developing therapeutics for these unique populations, and firsthand experience working collaboratively with patient groups to achieve success.”

“I am absolutely thrilled to be joining the team at Vencerx at a moment in time when the field of therapeutics development for rare neurodevelopmental disorders like Fragile X is poised to take off,” Dr. Ring says. “The past decade of CNS drug development field has quietly ignored what I see as a massive opportunity to address the diverse unmet needs of families across the autism and neurodevelopmental disorder communities by leveraging the rich diversity of targets and clinical assets pursued, and in many cases abandoned, for other indications.”