Fibrocor Therapeutics appoints William P. Newsome III as Chief Executive Officer and Piet Wigerinck as Chief Scientific Advisor

• Seasoned biopharmaceutical executive to lead Fibrocor as it aims to reshape the future of fibrosis treatment
• Fibrocor is currently advancing three drug candidates for fibrotic diseases into the clinic

TORONTO, Oct. 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Fibrocor Therapeutics Inc. ('Fibrocor' or 'the Company'), a privately held developer of novel therapeutics to treat fibrosis, today announces the appointment of William P. Newsome III as President and Chief Executive Officer and Piet Wigerinck as Chief Scientific Advisor.

William P. Newsome III was one of the co-founders of Fibrocor when he was at Evotec and has remained closely involved with the Company as a Non-Executive Director since 2018.

Piet is a highly experienced drug hunter, having taken four drugs (PrezistaTM, OlysioTM, JyselecaTM and RekambysTM) to market.  

Fibrosis – the scarring of organ tissue – is thought to be a factor in almost half of all deaths in the industrialised world. However, there are very limited treatment options for associated diseases. Fibrocor focuses on rare fibrotic indications, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), genetic kidney disorders, Chronic Allograph Nephropathy and Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis, a type of chronic bile duct disease which often leads to liver failure. The Company is seeking to advance two drug candidates with a focus on rare indications into the clinic - two exquisitely specific kinase inhibitor small molecules (FIB992 and FIB991). Fibrocor is planning for FIB992 to enter Phase I trials next year, with FIB991 going into the clinic in 2025.

William P. Newsome III said, "This is a critical moment for Fibrocor, as the Company accelerates the development of its first-in-class fibrosis programs. Through our collaboration with renowned research institutions, we have leveraged their collective expertise, together with one of the largest patient-derived clinically annotated biorepositories of fibrotic tissue, into a robust pipeline of drug candidates aimed at reshaping the future of fibrosis treatment. I look forward to leading what I already know to be an exceptionally talented team. We are taking a paradigm-shifting approach by tackling fibrosis through the lens of human disease progression, targeting key drivers of fibrosis."

Commenting on the appointment of Piet Wigerinck as Chief Scientific Advisor, William Newsome III said: "Piet's extensive experience, network and proven drug development track record make him the ideal person to guide our programs into the clinic. He is also very familiar with our programs from his time at Galapagos and his joining Fibrocor is a reflection of his confidence in our science, target rationale and the potential of our pipeline."

Newly appointed Chief Scientific Advisor of Fibrocor Piet Wigerinck noted, "As CSO of Galapagos, I was very impressed by the quality of the targets delivered by Fibrocor. It allowed my teams to generate strong in vivo data even in the most stringent fibrosis models. Moving these projects into the clinic will be a pleasure." 

In 2019, the Company entered into a partnership deal with Belgium-based Galapagos NV to develop the two small molecule assets, both highly selective kinase inhibitors. When Galapagos decided to reorganize its portfolio in 2022, both programs were returned unencumbered.

About Fibrocor Therapeutics: 

Fibrocor Therapeutics is redefining the landscape of fibrotic diseases through our unique portfolio of novel compounds against biologically and clinically validated targets. Leveraging our extensive expertise and one of the largest patient-derived clinically annotated biorepositories of fibrotic tissue, we strive to improve the lives of patients by delivering transformative treatments that tackle the root causes of fibrosis, leading to better outcomes and enhanced quality of life.  As we advance from the preclinical stage towards clinical trials and beyond, we remain dedicated to collaborating with patients, healthcare professionals, and industry partners to continue to refine and validate our therapeutic candidates, ensuring they meet the highest standards of efficacy and safety.  Our vision is to disrupt the status quo and provide hope to those affected by fibrotic diseases aiming to reshape the future of fibrosis treatment, ultimately making a meaningful difference in the lives of millions.

For more information visit www.fibrocor.com

About William Newsome III

William P. Newsome III has previously served as the Senior Vice President of Alliance Management at Evotec, the German contract research drug discovery and development company. Evotec jointly launched Fibrocor with Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners (TIAP) in 2017. William has a consistent track record of successful program implementation and company value creation, having spearheaded numerous high-impact initiatives throughout his career. These have included shared-risk, integrated drug discovery collaborations leading to substantial deal terms. William holds a BSC in Biochemistry from Colorado State University and an MA in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Brown University. He started his career as a research scientist at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals before serving in senior positions at Eurofinns/DiscoverRx. 

About Piet Wigerinck

Piet Wigerinck is a pharmacist and holds a Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry from the KU Leuven. He has over 30 years of R&D experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. He has been a key driver of the research and development programs of 4 approved medicines:  PrezistaTM, OlysioTM, JyselecaTM and RekambysTM. He started his career in industry at the Janssen Research labs in Beerse (1988-1998), next moved to Tibotec-Virco, where he was Vice President, Drug Discovery, Early Development and CM&C (1998-2008) and most recently was Chief Scientific Officer at Galapagos (2008-2021). Under his leadership, Galapagos built out a pipeline of first-in class medicines that drove the growth of the company to a top European biotech player. He has been responsible for all aspects of drug discovery, preclinical research, CM&C, phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials. He has a broad experience in anti-infective, autoimmune and anti-fibrotic disease research. Piet Wigerinck is an independent board member of Ipsen SA, France, miDiagnostics NV, Belgium and Atriva Therapeutics GmbH, Germany. He is the scientific co-founder of Xinvento, Netherland.