Evecxia Therapeutics was founded by Marc Caron, PhD and Jacob Jacobsen, PhD, two neuropharmacologists from Duke University. Dr. Jacobsen’s unique insight was that 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) had shown intriguing evidence of clinical efficacy in a range of brain disorders - despite no appropriate 5-HTP drug product being available, and despite 5-HTP being too short-acting and poorly absorbed in the human body to be a practical drug treatment. Dr. Jacobsen hypothesized that 5-HTP’s drug properties would be markedly improved if 5-HTP administration was made longer acting and 5-HTP’s absorption improved. Subsequent translational studies in Dr. Caron’s laboratory provided compelling evidence for this hypothesis. The resultant intellectual property and know-how formed the foundation for Evecxia.
Evecxia Therapeutics is the first company committed to realizing the therapeutic potential of 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) to help people with mental illness lead fuller, more meaningful lives.
Substantial evidence suggests that appropriate 5-HTP-based Rx drugs could improve the lives of millions of patients with mental disorders not helped by current treatments. Working tirelessly to advance our drug candidates to the market is what drive us.
We best serve our stakeholders and mental healthcare by maximizing the funds going towards drug development and by optimizing the value produced per dollar. To that end, we maintain a lean organization, right-size R&D activities, and use diligence in contracting with vendors and partners.
There can be multiple paths to the goal of helping patients and ensuring success for our company and stakeholders. We remain adaptable in meeting the challenges of changing contingencies and vigilant in seeking value-adding opportunities.
John Kaiser
Chief Executive Officer
Interim Chairman, Board of Directors
Jennifer Hart, MS
Executive Director, Operations
Jacob Jacobsen, PhD
Co-Founder
Chief Scientific Officer
Joel Raskin, MD
Chief Medical Advisor
Bret Berner, PhD
Chief Technology Advisor
John Kaiser
Chief Executive Officer
Interim Chairman, Board of Directors
Jacob Jacobsen, PhD
Co-Founder
Chief Scientific Officer
Thomas H. Aasen
David Zaccardelli, PharmD
Investor
• James B Duke Professor, Duke University, Depts. Of Cell Biology & Neurobiology
• Co-founder of Evecxia Therapeutics
• Director, Division of Clinical Research of the Massachusetts General Hospital Research Institute, Executive Vice Chair, Department of Psychiatry
• Executive Director, Massachusetts General Hospital Clinical Trials Network & Institute (CTNI)
• Associate Dean for Clinical & Translational Research, Slater Family Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
• Professor, Dept. of Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco
• Director of the Dolby Family Center for Mood Disorders
• Director of the UCSF Interventional Psychiatry Program and Co-Director of the TMS & Neuromodulation Clinic
• Professor Emeritus, Duke-NUS
• Adjunctive Professor, Duke University Medical School & Texas Tech University
• Professor, Vice Chair for Research, Department of Psychiatry, University of Alabama
In December 2015, Evecxia Therapeutics and Duke University School of Medicine entered into a worldwide license agreement granting Evecxia the exclusive right to develop and commercialize certain issued patents and pending patent applications involving 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP). In April 2018, the above-mentioned license agreement was expanded to include pending patent applications involving 5-HTP in combination with other pharmacological agents.
In September 2018, Evecxia Therapeutics and Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School, the National University Hospital of Singapore, and the Nanyang Technological University, entered into an exclusive worldwide license agreement granting Evecxia the exclusive right to develop and commercialize pending patent applications involving 5-HTP. Evecxia's lead candidate, EVX-101, results from a collaboration with Duke-NUS Medical School, Nanyang Technological University and National University Hospital, Singapore.
In June 2020, Evecxia Therapeutics announced that it is working with Tempus, a technology company advancing precision medicine through the practical application of artificial intelligence in healthcare, to integrate genetic, metabolomics, biochemical, and clinical data for deeper analysis. Tempus and Evecxia share a mission to improve the lives of patients suffering from mental illness. Given discreet pharmacology and the availability of serotonin-related biomarkers across multiple clinical dimensions, Evecxia’s 5-HTP-based drug candidates are ideally suited for precision medicine approaches. The collaboration will apply a data-driven approach to Evecxia’s upcoming clinical trials, with the goal of matching the right patient to the right treatment.
With Evecxia Therapeutics’ unsurpassed knowledge and experience with 5-HTP, serving as a hub for additional scientific exploration and development into multiple complimentary areas of unmet need, we seek value-added partnerships and collaborations with academic and corporate partners across therapeutic areas. We want you to work with us to help people with mental illness lead fuller and more meaningful lives.