Regentys Names Dr. John F. Howes Vice President of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs

MIAMI LAKES, FL – January 9, 2017 – Regentys (formerly Asana Medical, Inc.) (the “Company”), a regenerative medicine company developing a novel treatment for Ulcerative Colitis (“UC”), is pleased to announce that Dr. John F. Howes has been named as its Vice President of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs.

In this role, Dr. Howes will be responsible for the overall planning and direction of clinical and regulatory activities by developing and implementing strategies to obtain regulatory clearance for the Company’s proprietary ECMH™ Rectal Solution, a regenerative medicine-based treatment for ulcerative colitis. 

 “After analyzing the notable results from their pre-clinical studies, and the current available treatment options for ulcerative colitis, which are predominantly based on suppressing the immune response of the patient, I decided to join Regentys because I saw a real potential for ECMH™ Rectal Solution to become a frontline treatment for this devastating disease”, stated Dr. Howes. 

“We are very pleased that Dr. Howes has joined the Regentys executive team”, said Brian Andersen, Chief Business Officer. “His extensive regulatory and clinical knowledge will allow us to develop and implement a realistic, predictable, and efficient path through clinicals and CE mark / FDA clearance. We welcome him to the team as we continue to develop a disruptive technology in fulfillment of a huge, unmet market need in the GI space.”

Since 2007, Dr. Howes has been consulting in the medical field for numerous companies and individuals.  From 1996-2006, Dr. Howes was VP of New Drug Development at IVAX/TEVA and was responsible for new epilepsy, asthma, dermatology and inflammatory disease products. While at IVAX/TEVA, Dr. Howes also served as Senior Director of New Drug Development and Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs.  From 1987-1999, Dr. Howes was Vice President for Development at Xenon Vision, an early-stage company developing ophthalmic drugs, filing six Investigative New Drug (IND) applications.  Ultimately, Xenon was purchased by Pharmos Corporation, and during his tenure with Pharmos, Dr. Howes completed and submitted two New Drug Applications (NDA’s), one for Lotemax®, one for Alrex® and a supplemental NDA for the use of Lotemax in the treatment of post-cataract surgery.  All products were licensed to Bausch & Lomb.  From 1983-1987, Dr. Howes was Director of New Drug Development with Key Pharmaceuticals and from 1970-1983 he served as VP of Clinical and Preclinical Research for SISA, Inc., a pharma start-up that developed new products for both Abbott Laboratories and Miles Laboratories.

Dr. Howes has written over 90 publications and more than 50 abstracts, was a part-time lecturer in Neuropharmacology at Northeastern University, and completed post-doctoral work at University of North Carolina Medical School, Chapel Hill.  Dr. Howes received his Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmacy and his Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of London, England.