Enanta Pharmaceuticals Announces the Appointment of John P. DeVincenzo, M.D. as Vice President of Translational Virology
WATERTOWN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTA), a clinical stage biotechnology company dedicated to creating small molecule drugs for viral infections and liver diseases, today announced the appointment of John P. DeVincenzo, M.D. as Vice President of Translational Virology. In this role, Dr. DeVincenzo will provide leadership and direction for Enanta’s pipeline of respiratory antiviral clinical development programs and be responsible for the strategic development and tactical implementation of the clinical studies for these programs. Dr. DeVincenzo brings more than 30 years of clinical research and academic experience to Enanta, predominantly focused on the pathogenesis of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in children and the development of therapeutic and prevention strategies for RSV and other respiratory viral diseases.
“John is a strong addition to Enanta as he has played a significant role in nearly every RSV therapeutic advancement in the past several decades and has worked with multiple RSV antiviral and vaccine candidates from proof-of-concept to clinical trials,” said Nathalie Adda, M.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Enanta. “John’s appointment to this newly-created role reflects our commitment to advancing our RSV program and developing treatments for other respiratory infections, such as COVID-19 and human metapneumovirus. His specialized experience in the development of RSV therapeutics will prove to be invaluable, and we are thrilled to welcome him to Enanta.”
“Enanta is at the forefront of developing the leading RSV antiviral program and I am eager to leverage my years of expertise to help bring lifesaving therapeutics to patients in need,” stated Dr. DeVincenzo. “I am excited by the potential of EDP-938, a differentiated N-protein inhibitor that targets the virus’ replication machinery and has demonstrated positive Phase 2a results in a human challenge study. With a robust clinical program underway, including three ongoing or planned trials, I am eager to work with the Enanta team to advance the RSV clinical program.”
Dr. DeVincenzo joins Enanta from Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was a practicing pediatric Infectious Diseases Specialist and Medical Director of Le Bonheur's Molecular Diagnostic and Virology Laboratories and Professor of Pediatrics and Professor of Microbiology, Immunology, and Biochemistry at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine. Throughout his career, Dr. DeVincenzo has conducted numerous clinical and translational trials refining the pathogenesis of RSV and defining the role of prevention and therapeutic applications of monoclonal antibodies targeting RSV in infants and the immune-suppressed. He and his colleagues demonstrated the first evidence that treating an established RSV infection in humans can lower the viral load and result in reduced disease.
Dr. DeVincenzo has received numerous honors including induction into the Alpha Omega Alpha National Medical Honor Society (2009) and the Hero Healthcare Award for innovation (2008). He and his lab were recognized with an Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy Program Award from the American Society for Microbiology for best research in the area of Therapy and Prevention of Microbial Pathogens for an abstract entitled “Development of a Human Experimental Infection Model of Respiratory Syncytial Virus.” He was also named as a Porter Endowed Visiting Faculty Member at Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, as well as The Mildred and Dr. Morris Michael Endowed Visiting Professor and Visiting Faculty Member at the National Children’s Hospital.
Dr. DeVincenzo has a B.S. in Biology from Stanford University and received his M.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He completed his residency in Pediatrics at University of California, Los Angeles and a fellowship in Pediatric Infectious Disease at Boston Children’s Hospital. Dr. DeVincenzo is the author of over 250 original published abstracts and papers on the pathogenesis of RSV in children.
About Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Enanta is using its robust, chemistry-driven approach and drug discovery capabilities to become a leader in the discovery and development of small molecule drugs for the treatment of viral infections and liver diseases. Enanta’s research and development efforts have produced clinical candidates for the following disease targets: respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Enanta is also conducting research in human metapneumovirus (hMPV) and SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19).
Enanta’s research and development activities are funded by royalties from hepatitis C virus (HCV) products developed under its collaboration with AbbVie. Glecaprevir, a protease inhibitor discovered by Enanta, is sold by AbbVie in numerous countries as part of its leading treatment for chronic HCV infection under the tradenames MAVYRET® (U.S.) and MAVIRET® (ex-U.S.) (glecaprevir/pibrentasvir). Please visit www.enanta.com for more information.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements with respect to the prospects for advancement of Enanta’s clinical development programs in RSV and other respiratory infections. Statements that are not historical facts are based on management’s current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about Enanta’s business and the industry in which it operates and management’s beliefs and assumptions. The statements contained in this release are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed in such forward-looking statements. Important factors and risks that may affect actual results include: the discovery and development risks of Enanta’s programs in RSV, hMPV and SARS-CoV-2; the competitive impact of development, regulatory and marketing efforts of others in those disease areas; any continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Enanta’s business operations and clinical trials; Enanta’s lack of clinical development experience; Enanta’s need to attract and retain senior management and key research and development personnel; Enanta’s need to obtain and maintain patent protection for its product candidates and avoid potential infringement of the intellectual property rights of others; and other risk factors described or referred to in “Risk Factors” in Enanta’s most recent Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2020, and any other periodic reports filed more recently with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Enanta cautions investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this release. These statements speak only as of the date of this release, and Enanta undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements, except as may be required by law.