WAYNE, PA — Palvella Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: PVLA) recently appointed John D. Doux, M.D., M.B.A., to its board of directors as the company advances its pipeline of treatments for rare skin diseases and vascular malformations.
The company is developing therapies for conditions that currently lack U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved treatments, including candidates based on its QTORIN platform.
Doux is a board-certified dermatologist and investor with more than two decades of experience spanning clinical practice, biotechnology investing, and corporate governance. He has served as an analyst at Palo Alto Investors LP since 2004, focusing on healthcare investments, including companies developing therapies for rare diseases.
He previously served on Palvella’s board from 2019 to 2022 and has held board roles at multiple biotechnology companies, including Ceptaris Therapeutics, which developed a treatment for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma later acquired by Actelion.
Doux also co-founded the Dermatology Summit and the Dermatology Innovation Forum and serves as a board trustee for the Pachyonychia Congenita Project and a director at Kamari Pharma.
His advocacy for innovation in rare skin diseases includes a 2015 editorial in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology that examined the limited application of orphan drug development models in dermatology and highlighted opportunities for expanding investment in the field.
“Palvella has demonstrated that a patient-first approach, together with a commitment to pioneering therapies for diseases with no FDA-approved treatments, can build an enduring biopharmaceutical company,” Doux said, adding that the company’s platform-based model “has the opportunity to deliver meaningful impact for patients.”
Palvella’s lead product candidate, QTORIN 3.9% rapamycin anhydrous gel, is being developed for microcystic lymphatic malformations, cutaneous venous malformations, and angiokeratomas. A second candidate, QTORIN pitavastatin, is in development for disseminated superficial actinic porokeratosis.
Doux received his medical degree from Stanford University, completed his residency at Stanford University Medical Center, and earned an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
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