ASHA-624

CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Asha Therapeutics (Asha), ( ), a life sciences company, is leveraging its revolutionary PRISM™ drug design technology to create novel medicines to restore normal biology and provide functional cures for many difficult to treat diseases with a high unmet medical need. Unlike current technologies, PRISM™ designs new medicines one atom at a time, creating the optimal drug with a robust efficacy and safety pro the target of interest, and does so in a matter of weeks compared with the multi-year traditional drug discovery process. Asha announced today that the company’s Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Bradlee Heckmann, Ph.D., will be presenting breakthrough efficacy and safety data for their lead first-in-class ASHA-091 program with indications in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s Disease at the AD/PD™ 2024 International Conference in Lisbon, Portugal, March 5-9, 2024. Dr. Heckmann’s presentation is titled ASHA-091: Novel Pharmacological Targeting of Mitochondrial Dysfunction to Ameliorate Parkinson’s & Alzheimer’s Disease Pathology. ASHA-091 restores normal mitochondrial function and has demonstrated disease modifying efficacy as a functional cure in preclinical disease models. The company anticipates the transition of its ASHA-091 program into clinical trials by late 2024. In preparation for clinical transition, Asha has appointed Dr. Michael Gold and Dr. Allan Levey to their Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Gold is a pharmaceutical industry veteran with experiences as a Chief Medical Officer for Neumora, Vice President, Therapeutic Head CNS Development at AbbVie, Vice President Global Therapeutic Area, CNS at UCB, and additional leadership positions at GSK, Johnson & Johnson, and Bristol Myers Squibb. Dr. Gold earned his BS (Chemistry), MS (Mathematics and Computer Science) and MD degrees at the University of Miami, completed his Neurology training at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and then completed a fellowship in Behavioral Neurology at the University of Florida College of Medicine. Dr. Allan Levey is an internationally recognized expert in neurodegenerative disorders and clinical neurologist. He is a professor in the Department of Neurology at Emory University's School of Medicine, as well as the director of Emory's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. He has secondary faculty appointments in the Departments of Pharmacology, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Levey’s work has contributed to understanding the brain systems and mechanisms involved in disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, as well as in identifying molecular targets for new therapeutic strategies. He has more than 250 research publications and his recognitions include the Derek Denny-Brown Neurological Scholar Award from the American Neurological Association, the Heikkila Research Scholar Award from the National Parkinson Foundation, the Health Advancement Research Award from Community Health Charities and the Team Hope Award for Medical Leadership from the Huntington's Disease Society of America. In addition, he was inducted into the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars. “We are excited to welcome Drs. Gold and Levey as members of our Scientific Advisory Board. Their expertise comes at a pivotal moment for Asha as we transition our first-in-class lead programs designed using our PRISM™ technology to clinical trials. Drs. Gold and Levey bring extensive clinical, scientific, and pharma experience that will facilitate our transition to a clinical-stage company and most importantly bring Asha’s disease modifying medicines to patients with neurological and oncological diseases in need of effective therapies,” commented Dr. Bradlee Heckmann, Ph.D., Asha’s Chief Scientific Officer & Scientific Co-founder. About Asha Therapeutics: Asha Therapeutics ( ) is a life sciences company at the forefront of a new era of precision drug design, leveraging the power of its proprietary PRISM™ technology to custom design de novo compounds to create curative therapeutics for diseases with high unmet medical need across multiple clinical areas including neurology, oncology, and infectious disease. Asha's lead therapeutic programs, ASHA-624 and ASHA-091 with indications in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease, are expected to enter clinical trials by late 2024 and are disease modifying therapeutics. Forward-Looking Statements The matters discussed in this release that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and we intend that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbor created thereby. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements containing the words “believes,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “estimates,” “plans,” “expects,” “projects” and words of similar import. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are based on the information available to management at this time and which speak only as of the date of this release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Company or its industry to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. While the Company believes the information contained herein is reliable, the Company makes no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy or completeness of this information.

CINCINNATI, Ohio, Sept. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Asha Therapeutics (Asha), (), a biopharmaceutical company revolutionizing the traditional multi-year drug discovery process through the rapid design of new medicines for patients suffering from devastating illnesses, announced today that it has been selected as a BLUE KNIGHT™ company. BLUE KNIGHT™ is a joint initiative between Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JLABS and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, dedicated to the acceleration of transformative technology and science that will enable a swift and targeted response to evolving threats to public health and safety. As a BLUE KNIGHT™ company, Asha joins the robust Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JLABS and BARDA ecosystems. Asha's selection recognizes the demonstrated potential of the company's proprietary PRISM™ molecular design technology platform and innovative science to transform traditional drug development. In contrast to current AI-driven systems of drug discovery that screen millions of existing compounds, the PRISMTM Platform builds custom de novo compounds for specific disease targets. PRISMTM can produce clinic-ready drugs within months, compared with traditional drug discovery that takes years due to time intensive screening and chemical optimization. "The selection of Asha Therapeutics as a BLUE KNIGHT™ awardee highlights the power of its proprietary PRISM™ platform to dramatically accelerate drug development for previously intractable targets, largely considered undruggable. PRISM™'s demonstrated ability to successfully drug almost any target of interest is what has impressed me the most. Asha has proven ability to build a portfolio of assets with disease indications including ALS, Parkinson's Disease, ME/CFS and Long Covid, and Colorectal Cancer in a matter of months, demonstrating compelling efficacy and safety in animal models. I am thrilled with this recognition and look forward to patients benefiting from Asha's portfolio of assets in the very near future" commented Dr. Craig Blackstone M.D., Ph.D., a member of Asha's Board of Directors and Chair of Asha Therapeutics' Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Blackstone serves as Vice Chair for Research, and Chief, Movement Disorders Division in the Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston as well as Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School. "Asha is honored to be selected as a BLUE KNIGHTTM company. Our mission is to develop curative medicines for diseases with high unmet medical need, enabling greater health equity and access and improvements in global health. Asha is at the forefront of a new era of swift and purposeful precision drug design that will replace traditional lengthy and often serendipitous discovery. Asha has successfully used PRISMTM to rapidly design development candidates that have the extraordinary promise of becoming curative therapies that will transform patient outcomes. We are excited to leverage the capabilities of Asha's PRISMTM technology to enable a rapid response to risks to public health and safety in partnership with Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JLABS and BARDA," noted Dr. Bradlee Heckmann, Asha's Scientific Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer. About Asha Therapeutics: Asha Therapeutics () is a life sciences company at the forefront of a new era of precision drug design, leveraging the power of its PRISM™ technology to custom design de novo compounds to create curative therapeutics for diseases with high unmet medical need across multiple clinical areas including neurology, oncology, and infectious disease. Asha's lead therapeutic programs, ASHA-624 and ASHA-091 with indications in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease and ME/CFS and Long Covid respectively, are expected to enter clinical trials by mid-2024 and are disease modifying therapeutics. For more information, please visit or contact [email protected] SOURCE Asha Therapeutics