Journey Colab Works with Westwood & Wilshire to Place Chief Medical Officer
This article was originally posted on Business Wire
July 19, 2022 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Journey Colab, a biopharmaceutical company unlocking the science of psychedelics to build a new model of addiction care, today announced the appointment of Joel A. Posener, MD as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Posener previously served as Vice President, Clinical Research at Neumora Therapeutics. The company is utilizing synthetic Mescaline HCl (JOUR-5700) to develop a therapeutic for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD).
“We are excited for Dr. Posener to join the Journey Colab team and support the development of this promising therapeutic approach that will potentially change the trajectory of millions of lives struggling with AUD as well as other mental health conditions,” said Jeeshan Chowdhury, MD, Ph.D. Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Journey Colab. “Joel brings more than 30 years of experience in psychiatry, and as veteran in this field, will play a critical role in advancing synthetic mescaline combined with psychosocial therapy and community support into an FDA-approved model of addiction care.”
A board certified psychiatrist, Dr. Posener received his MD from McGill University and completed his residency and research fellowship at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center and Harvard Medical School. Following training, he served in academic faculty positions for twelve years, initially at Harvard and its affiliated hospitals and then at Washington University in St. Louis, prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry in 2004. Over the past 18 years, Dr. Posener has held positions of increasing responsibility in neuroscience development, covering both psychiatry and neurology and has had leadership roles at AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Takeda. In his previous role at Neumora, he was responsible for clinical development of the programs within the discovery portfolio. Concurrent with his industry positions, Dr. Posener has continued in academic faculty roles and currently serves as Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Temple University.
Journey Colab’s leading team of drug development experts and scientific advisors seek to build an integrated therapeutic model encompassing novel therapeutics combined with psychosocial therapy and community support. Synthetic Mescaline HCl, Journey’s lead compound in development, potentially has distinct advantages over other psychedelics and may be particularly well suited to the treatment of AUD. The company aims to harness the promising science of psychedelics to provide durable remission to those suffering from addiction.
“Journey Colab’s model has the potential to help an extraordinary number of people and I am thrilled to join the team as we advance into clinical development,” said Dr. Posener. “Alcohol Use Disorder has a prevalence of 28 million cases over the past year and existing treatments provide very limited benefit. Psychedelics represent an exciting new therapeutic approach and I’m honored to join the team working to create more effective and durable treatment options.”
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About Journey Colab
Journey Colab is unlocking the science of psychedelics to build a new model of addiction care combining the potential of neuroplasticity-promoting therapeutics with psychotherapy and community support. Our lead compound is synthetic Mescaline HCl for patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD), who are in desperate need of durable remission from this chronic, relapsing condition. Through our unique stakeholder structure, we have built an experienced team dedicated to our mission of creating scientifically rigorous and clinically validated treatments and improving equitable access to care.
About Westwood & Wilshire
Westwood & Wilshire is a retained executive-search firm delivering premier talent in life sciences, healthcare and advanced technology to the world’s most innovative companies. Our specialty is bringing top-flight senior leadership to growing venture-backed companies looking for the best people to fill their C-Suite hires. Clients around the globe work with Westwood & Wilshire to build world-changing companies. Contact information can be found at https://westwoodwilshire.com/contact-us.