My passion began in 1980 when, as a two-year college graduate, I joined the pharmaceutical industry in the island of Puerto Rico. The sense of contribution to my family, friends and every single user of the drug products we produced was embedded in every cell in my body. There has never been a question about what I should do in life.
This passion gave me the strength to go back to college and pursue a Ph.D. in Chemistry. Did I mention doing this while raising my two children, moving to a new country, and learning to speak English at the same time? Well that story is for another time. After completing my Ph.D. in Chemistry and an NIH Post-Doctoral assignment, I reentered the industry, in a Research and Development capacity. This path took me to Wyeth Vaccine R&D where I became closely involved in the development of Prevnar® and Meningetec® vaccines, from pre-clinical stage to commercialization. The journey, the learnings, and my mentors along the way were awesome and huge contributions to who I am today! I was honored to join each of my four grandchildren at the pediatrician’s office when they got their Prevnar® vaccination (I had to be there and witness it!).
My next big move was joining Biogen where my passion for moving forward new therapies to patients in need continued. In this journey I developed a second passion, seeing others develop their potential in the workforce. The satisfaction of managing and leading others on the right path that illuminates their skills and expertise has been a legacy that I treasure.
TODAY, I am not slowing down but starting the APIE Therapeutics, Inc journey. We have negotiated the exclusive worldwide intellectual property rights to RTI's (Research Triangle Institute International) decades worth of research on the Apelinergic System, Apelin/APJ receptor Agonists compounds portfolio, and pre-clinical studies of Apelin Agonist for the idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and heart failure (HF). APIE-Therapeutics Inc current strategy is to leverage the Apelinergic System Signaling Path to develop a portfolio of Anti-Fibrosis Therapies utilizing the RTI Apelin Agonists compounds portfolio (+800 compounds). The Apelin/APJ receptor is central to the pathophysiology of fibrosis, an underlying hallmark of many serious diseases. Drugs have been proposed for multiple diseases in pulmonary, cardiovascular and metabolic therapeutic areas. We have preclinical data in three specific therapeutic targets but intend to continue expanding the therapeutic targets within the Apelinergic System Signaling Path utilizing the RTI Apelin RTI Apelin Agonists compounds portfolio. The Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) indication is the pipeline program closest to being ready for human clinical trials.
We are excited to be moving this program forward given the strong need for better health outcomes; particularly, given the current pandemic and the observed increase in post-Covid-19 pulmonary fibrosis.
Unfortunately, there are only two available drugs in the market, and both provide limited health outcomes. The life span of IPF patients is 2-5 years. APIE-Therapeutics’ Apelin Agonists compounds novel mechanism of action for the IPF indication, has attracted the attention of top pulmonary/lung experts from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, University of Michigan Medical School and Weill Cornell Medicine, who have agreed to join our Scientific Board of Advisors. I am excited to have them be part of our team. We have a compelling preclinical data package and an experienced team of biopharma experts in pre-clinical and clinical development, regulatory, CMC and commercialization that I am confident will deliver on this program. There is a common motivation among all involved at APIE-T, a strong passion for bringing better health outcome to patients suffering from debilitating and fatal diseases.
We are launching an investor funding round this fall to move the IPF program into human trials. I am confident we will be conducting clinical trials next year!