JAMES E. BARRETT, PH.D. NAMED SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF MEMORY PHARMACEUTICALS
Montvale, NJ, March 11, 2002 - Memory Pharmaceuticals Corp., a privately held company that is developing drugs for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric diseases, announced today the appointment of James E. Barrett, Ph.D. to Senior Vice President, Research and Development, effective May 1, 2002. Dr. Barrett brings to the Company extensive experience in both the pharmaceutical industry and in academic research. Most recently, Dr. Barrett served as Vice President of Neuroscience Discovery Research at Wyeth-Ayerst Research.
"Jim Barrett's appointment expands the Company's management team and development expertise. Our ability to recruit high caliber executives is a clear demonstration of the strength of the Company's platform and diverse pipeline," said Tony Scullion, Chief Executive Officer of Memory Pharmaceuticals. "Jim brings to Memory Pharmaceuticals over nine years of direct pharmaceutical industry experience, with an in-depth knowledge of CNS drug discovery and management. His industry and scientific expertise will complement the Company's drug discovery and development programs as they move forward through commercialization."
"Jim has a proven track record in both building and leading research and drug development efforts in diverse areas of neuropsychiatric, neurological and neurodegenerative diseases," said Axel Unterbeck, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Memory Pharmaceuticals. "He will play a lead role in advancing the Company's development pipeline of drugs to treat diseases such as Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), Vascular Dementia, Schizophrenia and Major Depression. These compounds include MEM 1003 for MCI and Vascular Dementia and a PDE4 inhibitor program, including MEM 1414, for MCI, Alzheimer's Disease and Major Depression. In addition, his background in managing alliances and licensing agreements with biotechnology and academic organizations, combined with his vast knowledge in research and development surrounding neurological diseases, will be instrumental in assisting the Company's collaboration efforts."
At Wyeth-Ayerst Research, Dr. Barrett served as Vice President of Neuroscience Discovery Research. In addition to overseeing the Central Nervous System (CNS) research program, he was in charge of the Neuroscience Therapeutic Area, with responsibilities ranging from early exploratory research through and including Phase III clinical trials and commercialization. In addition, he was also responsible for evaluating and implementing collaborative efforts, and managing external alliances and licensing agreements with outside biotechnology and academic organizations. Prior to joining Wyeth-Ayerst, Dr. Barrett was employed by Lederle Laboratories as the Director of CNS Research, where he re-established a CNS research department with a focus on the pharmacological treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders. Dr. Barrett also has almost 20 years of experience in academic research and has held positions at several prestigious institutions, such as Columbia University, Rutgers University, and the University of Maryland, College Park. In addition to his drug discovery and development experience, Dr. Barrett has over 250 published scientific articles, books and abstracts, and is a member of seven editorial boards. Dr. Barrett received his Ph.D. in Psychology/Neurobiology from Pennsylvania State University and his B.A. in Psychology from the University of Maryland.
About Memory Pharmaceuticals:
Memory Pharmaceuticals is a neuropharmaceutical company developing drugs for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric diseases. Based on intellectual property developed by Nobel Laureate, Eric Kandel, M.D., the company's proprietary COGNOSTICST technology platform consists of an array of state-of-the-art bioassays that evaluate the cellular, physiological and behavioral aspects of drug effects within relevant memory pathways. Memory Pharmaceuticals applies its COGNOSTICS technology to target validation, chemical hit and lead identification, lead optimization and nomination of clinical development candidates. Memory Pharmaceuticals has developed a diverse pipeline of drug discovery programs at various stages of research and development, based on in-house discovery efforts and in-licensing of promising drugs.