David Hewitt, M.D. Appointed as New Allay Therapeutics Chief Medical Officer
Clinical-stage biotechnology company Allay Therapeutics recently announced the appointment of a new chief medical officer. David Hewitt, M.D. will serve in the role. Dr. Hewitt has an accomplished background as a neurologist and also a clinical trialist. He brings with him to Allay over 20 years of experience in medical affairs and clinical development. Dr. Hewitt is moving on from Nura Bio where he previously served as senior vice president of clinical development.
Allay Therapeutics is pioneering ultra-sustained analgesic products to transform post-surgical pain management and recuperation for patients and physicians. The proprietary technology platform combines validated non-opioid analgesics and biopolymers to create dissolvable candidates to deliver pain relief within a targeted site over weeks: an order of magnitude greater than the longest-lasting pain treatments currently available.
Allay chief executive officer Adam Gridley was pleased to welcome David to Allay noting his past as a leader in the field of analgesic drug development and his expertise and track record of success in the pain management and drug delivery space. Allay believes these traits will be invaluable as the company progresses their lead therapeutic candidate into Phase 2b trials.
“We believe ATX-101 may establish a new category in post-surgical pain management providing extended pain relief with the potential for improved recovery. Providing pain relief beyond the first few days after surgery represents a significant unmet need for patients, caregivers and healthcare providers. David’s experience as a clinician and an industry leader will help establish this new category of pain management as we advance these new products to market,” said CEO Adam Gridley.
Prior to his role at Nura Bio, Dr. Hewitt served as senior vice president of clinical development at Karuna Therapeutics where he worked on a novel mechanism for the treatment of schizophrenia. Dr. Hewitt also previously served as chief medical officer at Syneos Health, leading a large medical affairs team focused on helping biopharmaceutical companies bring their novel therapies from lab to life.
Before his work at Syneos Health, Dr. Hewitt held roles of increasing responsibility in the neurology group at Merck, working in pain, migraine and neurodegenerative diseases.
Dr. Hewitt began his biopharma career in the Ortho-McNeil division of Johnson & Johnson, where he designed and conducted clinical trials focused on acute and chronic pain.
He earned his medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry and completed his neurology residency training at New York Hospital Cornell Medical Center before completing a fellowship in pain, palliative care and analgesic research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
