About Us
About ProJenX
At ProJenX, our team is on a mission to develop the first effective treatment,
and ultimately a cure, for ALS.
ProJenX is a clinical-stage biotechnology company with novel, brain-penetrant, targeted therapies to address neurodegenerative diseases, with an initial focus on ALS. ProJenX was created out of a long-term research collaboration between Project ALS and researchers at Columbia University to rapidly develop and commercialize its lead therapy candidate, prosetin, for people with ALS.
Our Founders
ProJenX was built on a purposeful collaboration between the nonprofit organization Project ALS and the early-stage venture capital firm Medical Excellence Capital, alongside renowned researchers from Columbia University.
Emily Lowry is the Director of Internal Operations at the Project ALS Therapeutics Core at Columbia (the Core), where she designs and coordinates ALS drug screening efforts, and oversees the day-to-day work of the Core’s scientific team. Dr. Lowry develops novel approaches to ALS drug discovery, optimization, and evaluation. She also works closely with the broader Columbia and Project ALS teams to establish scientific collaborations with outside academic and industry partners. Dr. Lowry received a PhD in Neurobiology and Genetics from The Rockefeller University and conducted postdoctoral research in the lab of Hynek Wichterle at Columbia University.
Dr. Lowry is an expert in developing and improving cellular models for ALS drug screening. At Columbia, she has validated new protocols for the differentiation of stem cells into motor neurons, the cells that are vulnerable to degeneration in ALS. She has optimized several small molecule-based screening platforms to identify new therapeutic compounds to treat ALS, including prosetin, a novel MAP4 kinase inhibitor that protects motor neurons from endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. She is also using high throughput gene editing techniques to dissect the molecular underpinnings of ER stress-mediated neurodegeneration and identify new, druggable components of these pathways.
Brent R. Stockwell, Ph.D. is Chair of the Department of Biological Science, and a Professor in the Departments of Biological Science and Chemistry, at Columbia University. He has been teaching biochemistry for 16 years at Columbia University, and is the advisor to biochemistry majors. His research involves the discovery of small molecules that can be used to understand and treat cancer and neurodegeneration, with a focus on biochemical mechanisms governing cell death. These interdisciplinary investigations led to new methods of small molecule drug discovery, and the discovery of a new form of cell death known as ferroptosis. He has received numerous awards, including a Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award at the Scientific Interface, a Beckman Young Investigator Award, an HHMI Early Career Scientist Award, the BioAccelerate NYC Prize, the Lenfest Distinguished Columbia Faculty Award, the Great Teacher of Columbia College Award from the Society of Columbia Graduates, and an NCI R35 Outstanding Investigator Award. He has given >100 seminars around the world, trained >100 students, technicians and postdoctoral scientists, published >150 scientific articles, been awarded 20 US patents, and received >50 research grants for >$40 million. He founded the biopharmaceutical companies CombinatoRx Incorporated, Inzen Therapeutics, and Nevrox Limited, and is the author of The Quest for the Cure: The Science and Stories Behind the Next Generation of Medicines.
Hynek Wichterle is a Jerry and Emily Spiegel Professor holding a joint appointment in the Departments of Pathology & Cell Biology and Neuroscience (in Neurology) at Columbia University. He received his M.S. degree from Charles University in Prague and his Ph.D. degree from The Rockefeller University under the tutelage of Dr Arturo Alvarez Buylla. He trained with Dr. Thomas Jessell at Columbia University, where he became assistant professor in 2004 and associate professor in 2012. He serves as a co-director of the Center for Motor Neuron Biology and Disease and as a Vice-Chief of the Division of Regenerative Medicine in the Department of Rehabilitation & Regenerative Medicine.
Dr Wichterle developed groundbreaking methods for producing spinal cord neurons from pluripotent embryonic stem cells in a culture dish. His lab capitalizes on the unlimited source of spinal neurons to study motor neuron degenerative diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease), with the goal of discovering new drugs that promote motor neuron survival.
Arie Zask, PhD is a medicinal chemist with extensive pharmaceutical and academic drug discovery experience in neuroscience, inflammation, oncology, women’s health, and diabetes research. Dr. Zask currently serves as the Facility Manager for the Columbia University Chemical Probe Synthesis Facility at Columbia. Prior to working at Columbia, Dr. Zask was a Principal Research Scientist and Medicinal Chemist at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals for 15 years. He is a member of the AAAS, the American Association for Cancer Research, American Chemical Society and the New York Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Zask is an expert in the drug discovery process including computer aided drug design, virtual screening, high throughput screening, hit to lead development, lead optimization, and late stage discovery. He specializes in the design and synthesis of therapeutically active molecules leading to compounds in clinical development, and has authored over 140 publications, presentations, and patents. He received his BS in Chemistry from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, his PhD in Organic Chemistry from Princeton University, and completed his postdoctoral fellowship in Bioorganic Chemistry at Columbia University.
Jenifer Estess, her sisters and friends, started Project ALS in 1998, when Jenifer was diagnosed with ALS. Project ALS shifted the paradigm of ALS research, requiring its funded researchers and doctors to work together in small teams, toward a new standard of results-oriented accountability. In twenty-four years, Project ALS has raised over $120M and has overseen productive research collaborations among 25 leading institutions leading to the discovery of over 60 ALS genes, the development of the world’s first patient-based models of ALS, and the acceleration of ALS drug testing and clinical trials.
Medical Excellence Capital (MEC) is an early-stage life-science venture capital firm that combines accomplished investment professionals and operators (formerly with Domain Associates) with a proprietary national medical network platform to create the most unique venture firm in life sciences. The medical network platform was developed by John Prufeta at Medial Excellence International, a private health advisory service to help high-net worth families and individuals around the world access healthcare in the US. Medical Excellence International has had three members with ALS and seen the devastating impact of the disease firsthand. Throughout their careers the partners at Medical Excellence have collectively invested in over 50 companies and help co-found and/or operate 20 companies. MEC specializes in company creation and deploys precision capital to nurture and advance the precision health innovations that solve the biggest, most complex medical problems. MEC has extensive experience investing in areas such as drug discovery artificial intelligence, cell and gene therapy, synthetic biology, regenerative medicine, and precision medicine.