Now, we’re looking at how proteins are changing, what neurons are firing and which genes are changing in response to our drug that aren’t changing in response to the current therapies,” Doyle explains. “We can definitely do a once-a-week injectable, control weight loss, control tolerability as measured by pica (a craving to eat things having no nutritional value). However, we want to create a formulation that has the best tolerability and the highest efficacy before we move into licensing. After all, it is not a trivial thing to take something you’ve optimized to work beautifully well, then go ahead and make it long acting.”
Executive Researchers
Dr. Robert Doyle
Inventor and Advisor
A medicinal chemist with an interest in pharmaceutical drug development for the treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Mr. Doyle holds a broad background in peptide and protein design synthesis and recombinant expression, synthetic bioconjugate chemistry of peptides and proteins, drug delivery, protein biochemistry and assay development. In 2005, Mr. Doyle was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Syracuse University as a medicinal chemist with an interest in pharmaceutical drug development for the treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes, subsequently promoted, with tenure, to Associate Professor in 2009 and then full Professor in 2014. Mr. Doyle has a broad background in peptide and protein design synthesis and recombinant expression, synthetic bioconjugate chemistry of peptides and proteins, drug delivery, protein biochemistry and assay development. In 2016, Mr. Doyle was named the Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor. Previously, Mr. Doyle was appointed Associate Professor of Medicine at SUNY, Upstate Medical University (UMU), in the Department of Medicine and in 2020, Associate Professor of Pharmacology at SUNY, UMU. In 2022, I was also named Dean’s Professor of Chemistry. As a PI, Mr. Doyle has focused on the use of the vitamin B12 dietary pathway and components therein, to modify PD/PK profiles of peptide therapeutics (Exendin-4; oxytocin; PYY). I have also focused on the rational design of monomeric peptides that target central receptors with a focus on CINV, diabetes, obesity and Opioid Use Disorder (GFRAL; GLP-1R; NPYRs, MC4R). The Doyle group has graduated 24 PhD students between June 2009 and June
2023. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/robert.doyle.2/bibliography/public/
Dr. Nihar Pandey
Chief Science Officer
Dr. Nihar Pandey, is a biochemist and clinical researcher with over 25 years of expertise in drug discovery and development. He has developed seven IP-protected drug formulations and led advancements in R&D and regulatory compliance. A founder of multiple pharmaceutical companies, Dr. Pandey’s work drives innovative treatments and improves global healthcare. He is the Chief Scientific Officer at CliniCan Health Research and Paws Pharma, both in Canada. Dr. Pandey has a Ph.D. in Clinical Biochemistry and with more than 25 years of life sciences and pharmaceuticals R&D and business development. He is considered one of the KOLs in drug discovery, development, and approval of therapeutics in metabolic disease (diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular), neuroscience, dermatology, and endocannabinoid with a Concept-to-Market approach. He has received postdoctoral training from the Department of Medicine, University of Montreal, Clinical Research Institute of Montreal, and McGill University, Canada. He was appointed as a Research Scientist at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and
The Ottawa Hospitals (OHRI-Neuroscience) and was a Group leader for Drug Discovery and Development at Liponex Inc. Ottawa, Canada. Nihar has received clinical research training and has worked for Health Canada in regulatory toxicology. He has published more than 35 peer-reviewed research papers, 5 active patents, and 2 book chapters. He also serves as a scientific reviewer in leading medical/life science journals including, Circulation, Circulation Research, The Lancet, Hypertension, Journal of Cell Biology, Lancet Diabetes, Molecular Neuroscience, Metabolism, etc. He also holds expertise in business development and R&D related to drugs.
Dr. Peter Billing
Obesity Expert
Dr. Billing is a Mayo trained metabolic bariatric surgeon, entrepreneur and clinical investigator. He did the first day-case sleeve gastrectomy in a free-standing ambulatory surgery center in 2008. The team has performed thousands of ASC
outpatient bariatric surgeries and is internationally known and has several sentinel
publications that are changing the industry. He has shown that ambulatory day-case bariatric surgery is safe, affordable, and increases access to care. It’s the future of metabolic bariatric surgery, similar to what has happened in orthopedic spine and total joint procedures moving to the ASC.
Discovered and developed by Dr. Robert Doyle and his team at Syracuse University, GEP44 is a novel, monomeric peptide multi- agonist that targets the GLP-1 and NPY receptors. Preclinical studies have demonstrated its equivalent efficacy to Ozempic in achieving weight loss and glucose control, with the added benefit of improved tolerability.
