Alum is senior VP for new corporation
Gene Cefali, a 1989 graduate of VCU School of Pharmacy’s Pharm.D./Ph.D program, has been named senior vice president of clinical pharmacology and formulation development for the Cortria Corp. in Boston.
Cefali spent the previous 10 years with the Florida-based Kos Pharmaceuticals (which was acquired by Abbott in 2006). Most recently, he was vice president of lead optimization.
According to Cortria, Cefali is a globally recognized expert in the field of niacin metabolism and pharmacokinetics, and he played a major role in the development of Niaspan and three Niaspan line-extension products.
At Cortria, a new pharmaceutical company focusing on cardiovascular disease, he will join a team working to advance TRIA-662 as a candidate for the treatment of dyslipidemia. Here’s how the company describes the drug:
“TRIA-662 is currently in Phase 2 clinical development for the treatment of dyslipidemia, an atherogenic disorder characterized by abnormal fat levels in the bloodstream. In preliminary human studies, TRIA-662 demonstrated the potential to provide the desirable benefits of niacin therapy without flushing. Niacin was the first lipid-modifying agent proven in outcomes trials to extend life, yet the side-effects of niacin, principally skin flushing, cause many patients to discontinue therapy and dramatically limit the drug’s potential. Previous efforts to create a flush-free niacin therapeutic — using extended release formulations, dose titration and, more recently, fixed dose combination technologies — have not been successful. As a result, TRIA-662 represents an important opportunity as a new first-line therapy in the multi-billion dollar cardiovascular risk-reduction market.”
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