Relmada Therapeutics is sharpening its push into central nervous system drug development with the appointment of neuroscience veteran Michael Quirk as Senior Advisor – Sepranolone Program.
The clinical-stage biotech company, which is developing therapies in oncology and CNS disorders, said Dr. Quirk will help steer its sepranolone program, a GABAA receptor modulator being developed for Prader-Willi Syndrome and other neuropsychiatric conditions.
Relmada highlighted his expertise in CNS translational science, neuroactive steroid biology, and clinical development as key to advancing the program.
Dr. Quirk brings more than 20 years of neuroscience drug discovery and development experience, including senior leadership roles at Sage Therapeutics and AstraZeneca.
“We are very pleased to welcome Mike to the Relmada team. His distinguished career in CNS drug discovery and development, including his leadership of research and scientific strategy at Sage Therapeutics, gives him a unique and highly relevant perspective on neuroactive steroid biology that we believe will be invaluable to the sepranolone program,” said Sergio Traversa, CEO.
Dr. Quirk said the program’s mechanism offers a targeted approach to disrupted brain signaling in compulsivity-related disorders.
“Sepranolone's mechanism of action – selectively antagonizing the effects of allopregnanolone at GABA-A receptors without broadly disrupting GABAergic signaling – represents a precise and elegant approach to modulating neural circuits that are dysregulated in compulsivity-related disorders like Prader-Willi syndrome.
“I believe sepranolone has the potential to be a genuinely differentiated medicine for patients who currently have very limited options. I am excited to join the Relmada team and contribute to advancing this program toward clinical proof-of-concept.”
A trained neurophysiologist and translational scientist, Dr. Quirk previously served as Chief Scientific Officer and interim Head of R&D at Sage Therapeutics, where he contributed to the development of the first approved treatments for postpartum depression and helped build a broader brain health pipeline. He earlier held a leadership role in psychiatry and neurology programs at AstraZeneca.
Dr. Quirk earned his S.B. in Cognitive Science and Ph.D. in Systems Neuroscience from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and completed postdoctoral research at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, studying decision-making and goal-directed behavior.
