COUR Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of first-in-class, disease-modifying therapies designed to induce antigen-specific tolerance for immune-mediated diseases, today announced the appointment of Paul M. Peloso, MD, a seasoned drug developer with more than 20 years of experience advancing multiple therapeutic candidates through market approval, as chief medical officer.
Prior to joining COUR, Dr. Peloso served as Chief Medical Officer for ACELYRIN, Inc., a biopharma company focused on providing life-changing new treatment options for patients by employing a strategy of identifying, acquiring and accelerating development and commercialization of promising drug candidates. While at ACELYRIN, Dr. Peloso was responsible for global clinical development of the company’s pipeline of products, with an initial focus in immunology.
Before ACELYRIN, Dr. Peloso was vice president and therapeutic head for rheumatology of Horizon Therapeutics, where he was responsible for advancing the company’s pipeline of first-in-class rare disease medicines including, notably KRYSTEXXA® until its acquisition by Amgen in 2023. Prior to this role, Dr. Peloso served as group medical director for both AbbVie and Merck, where he leveraged his extensive experience in biologics, small molecules, and medical devices.
Among Dr. Peloso’s global clinical and regulatory achievements across his career, he helped develop and ultimately secure approvals for ORILISSA® (elagolix), ILUMYA™ (tildrakizumab), Arcoxia® (etoricoxib), and Enbrel® (etanercept). Dr. Peloso has also led a broad range of successful filings in numerous therapeutic areas that have led to approvals by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, European Medicines Agency and in the Asian and Latin American markets.
“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Peloso during this time of significant growth at COUR,” said John J. Puisis, founder, president, and chief executive officer of COUR. “The addition of Dr. Peloso to our management team comes on the heels of our successful fundraising earlier this year, which will allow us to further develop our clinical-stage pipeline as we advance into Phase 2 clinical studies with our lead program in Myasthenia Gravis as well as advance our Type 1 Diabetes program into the clinic later this year. We look forward to benefiting from Dr. Peloso’s significant expertise in late-stage clinical development and regulatory approval as we aim to bring transformative solutions to patients in need. I would also like to take this opportunity to express a deep sense of gratitude to Dr. Roy First, who has been COUR’s acting CMO for the past five years. Working closely with the company, Dr. First has been invaluable to COUR’s present success.”
Dr. Peloso added, “I am excited to be joining COUR as the company moves forward into late-stage development. Given the tremendous promise already demonstrated by their nanoparticle technology platform in earlier studies and across other indications, I’m enthusiastic to be at the forefront of a truly innovative solution for patients with a range of autoimmune diseases with key unmet medical needs. My experience in bringing new medicines from bench to bedside will complement an existing strong leadership team at COUR.”
Prior to entering the industry, Dr. Peloso was in academic practice in rheumatology in the U.S. and Canada. He holds two bachelor’s degrees, one in biochemistry and another in sociology, from McMaster University and earned his medical degree from the University of Calgary before training in rheumatology and epidemiology.
About COUR Pharmaceuticals:
COUR Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing therapies to treat patients with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. COUR’s first-in-class therapies are based on our proprietary antigen-specific immune tolerance platform and are designed to reprogram the immune system to address the underlying root cause of immune-mediated diseases. Data from multiple clinical and preclinical programs have demonstrated the ability of COUR’s product candidates to induce antigen-specific immune tolerance and have the potential to treat a wide range of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
COUR is developing product candidates in Myasthenia Gravis and Type 1 Diabetes in addition to having partnered products in Celiac Disease (with Takeda Pharmaceuticals), and Primary Biliary Cholangitis (with Ironwood Pharmaceuticals).
For more information, please visit www.courpharma.com
Contacts
For Investor Relations
Brian Bock, Chief Financial Officer
bbock@courpharma.com
For Media
Owen Blaschak
oblaschak@lifescicomms.com