WILMINGTON, DE — Inhibikase Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: IKT) appointed veteran pharmaceutical executive Scott M. Wasserman to its board of directors, effective October 19, as the company advances a global Phase 3 trial of its experimental treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension, a progressive and potentially fatal cardiovascular disease.
Wasserman, a cardiologist with more than two decades of clinical development experience, replaces Dennis Berman, who resigned from the board concurrent with the appointment, the company said.
The leadership change brings additional cardiovascular drug development and regulatory expertise to Inhibikase as it conducts IMPROVE-PAH, a Phase 3 study evaluating IKT-001, a once-daily oral treatment candidate for pulmonary arterial hypertension, or PAH.
The disease affects blood vessels in the lungs, increasing pressure in the pulmonary arteries and placing additional strain on the heart. Inhibikase is developing IKT-001 as an anti-proliferative therapy intended to address the condition.
Wasserman currently serves as chief medical officer of Kailera Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing GLP-1-based treatments for obesity and related conditions.
He previously held senior development positions at Amgen Inc., where he served as vice president and global development therapeutic area head for bone, cardiovascular, metabolic and neuroscience programs.
During his tenure, Wasserman led the global development and regulatory approvals of Repatha (evolocumab), a cholesterol-lowering medication, and contributed to the development and U.S. approval of Evenity (romosozumab), a treatment for osteoporosis.
He also oversaw the U.S. approval of Aimovig (erenumab), a migraine prevention therapy, while managing development programs involving heart failure, anemia, obesity and Alzheimer’s disease.
“Scott has taken multiple programs from early development through global approval, and he has built clinical organizations at both large and emerging companies,” said Amit Munshi, chairman of Inhibikase’s board.
The appointment adds experience in clinical trial design, regulatory strategy and international drug development at a stage when Inhibikase is seeking to establish the effectiveness and safety of IKT-001 in a late-stage clinical study.
Wasserman pointed to the drug’s relationship to imatinib and its early clinical findings as factors supporting further investigation.
“PAH is a progressive, life-threatening disease, and the pedigree of imatinib together with the recent preclinical and Phase 1 data for IKT-001 point to a very promising role for this asset in this difficult to treat condition,” Wasserman said.
Those early findings have not established the treatment’s effectiveness in Phase 3 testing, which remains underway.
Before joining Kailera, Wasserman was a venture partner at Frazier Life Sciences, focusing on biotechnology company formation. He previously co-founded and served as chief executive officer of Latigo Biotherapeutics, a developer of non-opioid pain treatments.
Earlier in his career, he conducted National Institutes of Health-sponsored cardiovascular research at Stanford University and practiced cardiology at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Palo Alto, California.
Wasserman earned his medical degree from Harvard Medical School and completed internal medicine and cardiovascular medicine training at Stanford University. He also holds an undergraduate degree from Haverford College.
The board transition comes as Inhibikase concentrates its clinical development efforts on IKT-001 and the ongoing IMPROVE-PAH trial, which will be central to determining the treatment candidate’s potential regulatory path.
Support the local news that supports Chester County. MyChesCo delivers reliable, fact-based reporting and essential community resources—free for everyone. If you value that, click here to become a patron today.