Adaptive Phage Therapeutics Appoints Robert J. Hopkins, MD, MPH & TM, FACP, FIDSA, to Chief Medical Officer
– Robert J. Hopkins, MD, MPH & TM, FACP, FIDSA, is a highly regarded medical and research professional in infectious diseases with over 25 years of industry experience –
GAITHERSBURG, Md., July 30, 2021–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Adaptive Phage Therapeutics, Inc. (“APT”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to providing therapies to treat infectious diseases, today announced that it has promoted Robert Hopkins, M.D., to Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Hopkins is a highly respected medical and research professional who is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians (FACP) as well as a Fellow of Infectious Disease Society of America (FIDSA). Previously he served as APT’s Vice President of Clinical Development.
“Dr. Hopkins’ distinguished medical and research career – centered around infectious diseases – positions him as the ideal candidate to lead our clinical efforts and the continued development of our PhageBank™ therapies,” said Greg Merril, APT’s CEO and co-founder. “His proven leadership, coupled with his unique experience working at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), will be invaluable as we continue to progress our pipeline candidates through clinical development.”
Dr. Robert Hopkins joined Adaptive Phage Therapeutics in 2019, after serving as Senior Medical Advisor in the Division of Clinical Services (DCS) for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) in Washington, D.C. Prior to that, Dr. Hopkins held various roles including Director of Clinical Research at Merck Research Laboratories, Vice President of Product Development at Aeras, and Senior Director of Clinical Development at Emergent Biosolutions where he led clinical and licensing efforts for anti-infective and vaccine products. Dr. Hopkins was also Team Leader at the Center for Drug Evaluation Research, FDA in the Division of Special Pathogens and Immunologic Drug Products. Dr. Hopkins has played an active role in NIH study sections and served as a reviewer for multiple journals in the area of infectious disease. Dr. Hopkins is board certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases. He received his M.D. from Tulane Medical School and trained in internal medicine and infectious disease at the University of Maryland.
“I’m delighted to continue working with APT’s executive team and leading the next phase of clinical development for our company’s promising pipeline. Combating infectious diseases presents a critical need that affects a large portion of the population,” said Dr. Robert Hopkins. “I believe that the company’s PhageBank™ technology and clinical development candidates have the potential to transform the treatment of multi-drug resistant and biofilm-associated bacterial pathogens.”
Adaptive Phage Therapeutics, Inc.
Adaptive Phage Therapeutics (APT) is a clinical-stage company advancing therapies to treat multi-drug resistant infections. Prior antimicrobial therapeutic approaches have been “fixed,” while pathogens continue to evolve resistance to each of those therapeutics, causing those drug products to become rapidly less effective in commercial use as antimicrobial resistance (AMR) increases over time.
APT’s PhageBank™ approach leverages an ever-expanding library of bacteriophage (phage) that collectively provide evergreen broad spectrum and polymicrobial coverage. PhageBank™ phages are matched through a proprietary phage susceptibility assay that APT has teamed with Mayo Clinic Laboratories to commercialize on a global scale.
APT’s technology was originally developed by the biodefense program of U.S. Department of Defense. APT acquired the world-wide exclusive commercial rights in 2017. Under FDA emergency Investigational New Drug allowance, APT has provided investigational PhageBank™ therapy to treat more than 40 critically ill patients in which standard-of-care antibiotics had failed.
For more information, visit http://www.aphage.com.
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