Delix Therapeutics, a neuroscience company developing novel neuroplasticity-promoting therapeutics for psychiatric and neurological conditions, today announced the appointment of Dr. Aaron Koenig as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Koenig will oversee Delix’s clinical development programs, team build-out, and broader development strategy as the company advances its psychoplastogen platform of novel disease-modifying therapeutics for serious psychiatric, neurological, and neurodegenerative disorders.
Dr. Koenig joins the company from Sage Therapeutics, where he served most recently as Vice President of Early Medical Science and helped design and oversee clinical-stage programs, including compounds targeting a range of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative and disorders. Prior to Sage, Dr. Koenig served as a clinical investigator at the Massachusetts Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and practiced as a clinician in the MGH Memory Disorders Unit in the Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital.
“As Delix navigates its phase I trial for the novel compound DLX-001, Dr. Koenig’s experience in early clinical development will be crucial to advancing our novel neuroplasticity-promoting therapeutics. Aaron’s leadership and proficiency in clinical development, coupled with his superior understanding of neurology and psychiatry, will prove invaluable as Delix paves the way to safe, fast-acting and scaleable FDA-approved therapeutics to help patients in need.”
Delix Therapeutics Head of Research & Development Dr. Eliseo Salinas
Dr. Koenig added, “Delix’s robust portfolio, world-class team and dedication to rigorously investigating the next generation of psychoplastogens to treat mental illness has placed the company at the forefront of this modern scientific revolution. I am eager to offer my expertise and collaborate with this exceptional team as we develop non-hallucinogenic analogs of psychedelic compounds and build effective and safer therapeutic solutions to patients in desperate need of help.”
Dr. Koenig received his MD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and completed a residency in Adult Psychiatry at Western Psychiatric Institute & Clinic of UPMC, where he also served as a Chief Resident for Research. Dr. Koenig has also completed a clinical fellowship in Geriatric Psychiatry at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, followed by a post-doctoral research fellowship in Psychiatric Genetics and Translational Research at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. A diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN), Dr. Koenig has been involved in clinical and translational research throughout his career, with a particular focus on the development of treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders with high unmet need.
Delix’s experienced and innovative scientific and clinical leadership team, including Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Kurt Rasmussen and co-founder, Chief Innovation Officer and head of Delix’s Scientific & Strategic Advisory Board, Dr. David E. Olson, are leading Delix in the initiation of recruitment of a phase I clinical trial of lead candidate, DLX-001. A non-hallucinogenic psychoplastogen, DLX-001 is the first of several psychoplastogens in the Delix platform to be approved for human trials. The ongoing first-in-human trial taking place at the Center for Human Drug Research (CHDR) in the Netherlands, will assess the safety, pharmacokinetics, psychometric functions, and markers of brain activity and synaptic plasticity in approximately 100 healthy volunteers.
Delix has been named by Chemical & Engineering News as one of 2022’s Ten Start-Ups to Watch, recognized by Nature Biotechnology and FierceBiotech on their lists of Top Biotech’s of the Year, and honored by the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association alongside Pfizer with the annual ACE Award for advancing gender diversity.
About Delix Therapeutics
Delix Therapeutics is a neuroscience company focused on harnessing the power of psychoplastogens— novel neuroplasticity-promoting therapeutics—to better treat mental health disorders at scale. The company’s compounds are easily manufactured small molecules capable of rapidly inducing structural and functional neural changes in targeted areas of the brain. Many of these molecules are inspired by psychedelic compounds and preserve their efficacy-promoting mechanisms while avoiding their hallucinogenic properties and other safety liabilities. Delix is rapidly advancing these compounds through preclinical and clinical development to bring patients FDA-approved, take-home medicines that will serve several unmet needs. Headquartered in Massachusetts, Delix is building a world-class biotechnology company by combining an experienced team with innovative treatment strategies and scientific rigor to address the significant and growing mental health challenges impacting society.