Rapport Therapeutics Names Scientific Advisory Board
Board to be co-chaired by two Nobel laureates
Members include world-renowned experts in ion channel signaling, seizure disorders and the genesis of pain
BOSTON and SAN DIEGO — June 29, 2023 – Rapport Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company leveraging the science of receptor-associated proteins to advance precision neuromedicines, today announced the formation of a scientific advisory board comprised of distinguished experts in medicinal chemistry, molecular pharmacology, neurobiology and epilepsy. The group includes Nobel laureates as well as members of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Its members are David Julius, Ph.D., David MacMillan, Ph.D., David Clapham, M.D., Ph.D., Allan Basbaum, Ph.D., FRS and Jeffrey Noebels, M.D., Ph.D. The board will provide advice and direction to the company as it advances its novel R&D programs, applies its receptor-associated protein (RAP)-based discovery platform across multiple disease areas and moves forward in the clinic.
“Rapport has assembled what may well be the most impressive scientific advisory board in biotech, which includes some of the world’s most accomplished scientists,” said Steve Paul, M.D., Chairman of the Rapport Board of Directors, Co-Founder and Advisory Partner at Third Rock Ventures. “Having scientific advisors of such prominence speaks to the high quality of Rapport’s science, platform and people and provides another layer of expertise for the company to draw upon as it pursues its mission to reshape the way neurological and psychiatric disorders are treated.”
Rapport is leveraging discoveries made by its scientific founders, including chief scientific officer and Rapport co-founder David Bredt, M.D., Ph.D., to achieve unprecedented precision in targeting receptors in the specific neuroanatomical regions underlying the pathophysiology of neurological disorders. Its RAP-based approach contrasts with current treatments that act on targets expressed ubiquitously in the nervous system and, in some cases, other areas of the body. Rapport’s strategy looks to create precision neuromedicines with improved efficacy, safety, and tolerability.
“Even as a relatively early-stage company, we have attracted tremendous interest, excitement and respect from some the world’s brightest scientists,” said Dr. Bredt. “These advisors should help Rapport bring about a new and long-awaited wave of innovation in neuromedicine, as our company translates the science of RAPs into precision medicines for patients who do not benefit from current treatments. Our newly established SAB will be instrumental in helping us navigate our journey and achieve our bold vision.”
Rapport Therapeutics SAB Members
David Julius, Ph.D. (Co-Chair)
David Julius is Chair of Physiology at the University of California San Francisco, where his laboratory studies the molecular biology of sensory transduction and ion channels. Dr. Julius received the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Ardem Patapoutian for their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch. He holds numerous other honors and awards, including but not limited to the Prince of Asturias Award in Technical and Scientific Research, Passano Award and a Shaw Prize in Life Sciences and Medicine. Dr. Julius is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences.
Sir David MacMillan, Ph.D. (Co-Chair)
David MacMillan, Ph.D., is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Chemistry at Princeton University, where his lab’s research centers on the field of organic synthesis and catalysis. He shared the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Benjamin List for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis. Dr. MacMillan was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in July 2022 and by King Charles at Buckingham Palace in February 2023. He was formerly the founding editor-in-chief of the journal Chemical Science, published by the Royal Society of Chemistry. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as well as the National Academy of Sciences.
Allan Basbaum, Ph.D., FRS
Allan Basbaum, Ph.D., FRS, is Chair of Anatomy at the University of California San Francisco. Dr. Basbaum’s laboratory examines the mechanisms through which tissue and nerve injury produce changes in the peripheral and central nervous system that result in persistent pain. Dr. Basbaum is the former editor-in-chief of Pain and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society in the United Kingdom.
David Clapham, M.D., Ph.D.
David Clapham, M.D., Ph.D., is Aldo R. Castañeda Professor of Cardiovascular Research and Professor Emeritus of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Clapham’s laboratory at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Janelia Research Campus studies ion channels and their control of cell signaling pathways, as well as the molecular structures in those pathways. Dr. Clapham was HHMI’s vice president and chief scientific officer from 2016 to 2022. He has published in leading scientific publications and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Jeffrey L. Noebels, M.D., Ph.D.
Jeffrey Noebels, M.D., Ph.D., is Cullen Trust for Health Care Endowed Chair in Neurogenetics and Professor of Neurology, Neuroscience and Molecular and Human Genetics at the Baylor College of Medicine. He is also Director of Baylor’s Blue Bird Circle Developmental Neurogenetics Laboratory, which applies mutational analysis to learn how genes regulate neuronal excitability and network synchronization within the mammalian central nervous system. Dr. Noebels’ research, which includes the first large-scale translational genomic research study examining variants in human ion channel genes, has been published in leading journals such as Nature, Cell, Neuron, Journal of Clinical Investigation and Science Translational Medicine. He is also a past President of the American Epilepsy Society.
About Rapport (www.rapportrx.com)
Rapport pursues precision neuromedicine in an effort to give patients better alternatives to current treatments for neurological diseases, which often come with reduced efficacy and side effects that lead to suboptimal dosing, noncompliance and discontinuation. By more precisely targeting the neural circuits and cell types where diseases originate, Rapport’s approach has the potential to reduce the unwanted drug-target interactions that lead to these issues. The company’s platform, built and refined over the past decade by its founding scientific team, achieves precision through the discovery and targeting of receptor-associated proteins, or RAPs, which display regional or neural circuit-specific expression. The company’s first program, designed to treat seizure disorders in patients whose condition is resistant to current treatments, is in Phase 1 clinical studies.
Media:
Kit Rodophele
Ten Bridge Communications
617-999-9620
krodophele@tenbridgecommunications.com