EDISON, N.J., Aug. 07, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hepion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEPA), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapeutic drugs for the treatment of liver disease arising from non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and chronic viral infection, today announced that Dr. Stephen Harrison has joined its Scientific Advisory Board.
“We are honored to have Dr. Harrison, an internationally recognized hepatologist (liver disease expert), join our Scientific Advisory Board,” commented Dr. Carol Brosgart, Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Divisions of Global Health Sciences, Biostatistics and Epidemiology in the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and Chair of the Company’s Scientific Advisory Board. “With his extensive experience in chronic hepatitis and fatty liver disease, or NAFLD, and NASH, Dr. Harrison joins us at an opportune time, as we prepare for CRV431 to enter the clinic as a potential treatment for NASH and continue to progress its clinical development more broadly in liver disease.”
“I am looking forward to working with the Hepion team to develop CRV431, a promising candidate with the potential to treat not only hepatitis and NASH, but other diseases in which fibrosis plays a role,” commented Dr. Harrison.
Dr. Harrison is currently a Visiting Professor of Hepatology at the Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford. He is also the Medical Director for Pinnacle Clinical Research and the President of Summit Clinical Research.
Dr. Harrison is a peer-reviewer for more than 20 medical journals. He is internationally known for studies in hepatitis C and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease with more than 200 peer reviewed publications in these fields. Dr. Harrison previously served as a Professor of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and as Associate Editor for Hepatology and Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Most recently, Dr. Harrison served as a Colonel in the United States Army, retiring in 2016 to conclude 20 years of dedicated service to his country. During his army tenure, he served as the Director of Graduate Medical Education at Brooke Army Medical Center, Associate Dean for the San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium, and Gastroenterology Consultant to the Army Surgeon General.
Dr. Harrison earned his medical degree from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine. He completed his internal medicine residency and gastroenterology fellowship at Brooke Army Medical Center and a 4th year advanced liver disease fellowship at Saint Louis University. He is board certified in both Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology.
About Hepion Pharmaceuticals
Hepion Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of targeted therapies for liver disease arising from non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and chronic hepatitis virus infection (HBV, HCV, HDV). The Company’s lead drug candidate, CRV431, reduces liver fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma tumor burden in experimental models of NASH. Preclinical studies also have demonstrated antiviral activities towards HBV, HCV, and HDV through several mechanisms. These diverse therapeutic activities result from CRV431’s potent inhibition of cyclophilin enzymes, which are involved in many disease processes. Currently in clinical phase development, CRV431 shows potential to play an important role in the overall treatment of liver disease - from triggering events through to end-stage disease.
