24 January 2020 - - French biopharmaceutical company POXEL SA has appointed David E. Moller, MD, as chief scientific officer, the company said.

Moller will be responsible for leading scientific-related activities to support the advancement of the company, including scientific innovation and scientific communications at Poxel.

Moller is an industry leader in the discovery and development of new therapeutic agents, particularly in diabetes and metabolic disorders.

He will be based in Boston, further expanding Poxel's presence in the US.

Moller will join the executive management team and work closely with the R and D team in France, including Sébastien Bolze, PharmD, PhD, who has been appointed to the newly created position of chief operating officer, executive vice president, Non-Clinical and Manufacturing Operations.

In this new role, Dr. Bolze will oversee and coordinate R and D operations.

Dr. Moller brings over 20 years of experience leading R and D efforts at Eli Lilly and company and Merck, where he focused on cardiometabolic drug discovery and development as well as other disease areas including endocrine and musculoskeletal disorders.

He joins Poxel from Sigilon Therapeutics, where as CSO he led the company's rare disease and type 1 diabetes efforts.

Prior to that, Dr. Moller served in senior roles at Eli Lilly over a twelve-year period, including vice president of Endocrine and Cardiovascular Research and Clinical Investigation and VP of business development emerging technology and innovation.

Importantly, his team was responsible for the development of Trulicity* (dulaglutide) and other key product candidates.

Prior to Eli Lilly, Moller served in senior roles over a ten-year period at Merck. As VP of metabolic disorders, he led the global diabetes and obesity discovery area, which included oversight of the team that discovered Januvia (sitagliptin).

Moller obtained a BS from Brown University and a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Cincinnati.

He began his career as Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School focused on elucidating the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes, where he had also completed a research and clinical postdoctoral fellowship in Endocrinology.

He has published more than 130 peer-reviewed papers.

His honors include election to the American Society of Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, and appointment as an Adjunct Professor at the Karolinska Institute.

Poxel is a dynamic biopharmaceutical company that uses its extensive expertise in developing innovative drugs for metabolic diseases, with a focus on type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.

In its mid-to-late stage pipeline, the company is currently advancing three drug candidates as well as earlier-stage opportunities. 

Imeglimin, Poxel's first-in-class lead product, targets mitochondrial dysfunction.

Together, with its partner Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, Poxel successfully completed the Phase 3 Trials of IMeglimin for Efficacy and Safety (TIMES) program for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in Japan.

Poxel also established a partnership with Roivant Sciences for Imeglimin's development and commercialization in countries outside of the partnership with Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, including the US and Europe. 

PXL770, a first-in-class direct adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase activator, is in a Phase 2a proof-of-concept program for the treatment of NASH.

PXL770 could also have the potential to treat additional metabolic diseases. PXL065 (deuterium-stabilized R-pioglitazone), a mitochondrial pyruvate carrier inhibitor, is advancing into a Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of NASH.

Poxel also has additional earlier-stage programs targeting metabolic, specialty and rare diseases. The company intends to generate further growth through strategic partnerships and pipeline development.

Listed on Euronext Paris, Poxel is headquartered in Lyon, France, and has subsidiaries in Boston, MA, and Tokyo, Japan.