Curanex Expands Scientific Advisory Board With Two Distinguished Researchers
New Appointments Bring Deep Expertise in Immunology and Infectious Disease to Advance IND Submission and Intellectual Property Strategy
Jericho, New York, March 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Curanex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: CURX) (“Curanex” or the “Company”), a development-stage pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of botanical drugs for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, today announced the appointment of two highly respected and accomplished life sciences research experts to the Company’s Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Taku Kambayashi and Dr. Selvakumar Subbian bring world-class expertise in immunology and infectious disease, directly aligned with the Company’s therapeutic focus and clinical development roadmap.
The Company intends to disclose one, final accepted member of its initial Scientific Advisory Board once that Advisor’s current employer, a well-known US academic institution, approves the draft press release.
These Advisors will provide scientific guidance across research and development, preclinical study design, IND preparation, clinical trials and intellectual property strategy. The biographical summary for these two Advisors is as follows:
Taku Kambayashi, MD, Ph.D.
Taku Kambayashi is a Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine. A physician-scientist with dual clinical and research expertise, Dr. Kambayashi is board-certified in Clinical Pathology and Transfusion Medicine and serves as Chair of the Immunology Graduate Group at Penn.
Dr. Kambayashi’s laboratory investigates targetable signal transduction pathways in immune cells, with the goal of translating fundamental discoveries into therapies for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Key research programs include the role of TSLP-stimulated T cells in sebum secretion and adipose tissue loss (a finding with implications for obesity-related disorders), regulatory T cell homeostasis and its therapeutic manipulation in diseases such as multiple sclerosis, graft-versus-host disease, diabetes, and diacylglycerol kinase (DGK) as a novel checkpoint target for reactivating exhausted T cells in cancer and chronic infection.
Dr. Kambayashi earned his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and his M.D. and Ph.D. from Emory University. He completed his residency and fellowship training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. His work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the National Blood Foundation Scholar Award, the Junior Faculty Scholar Award from the American Society of Hematology, the STAT Summit Breakthrough Science Award (2022), and the Lady Barbara Colyton Award for Autoimmune Research. He is a member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation and the Henry Kunkel Society.
Selvakumar Subbian, Ph.D.
Selvakumar Subbian is a Professor in the Department of Medicine and Principal Investigator at the Public Health Research Institute (PHRI), New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ. With more than 25 years of expertise in microbial pathogenesis and host-pathogen interactions, his research focuses on pulmonary infectious diseases — particularly tuberculosis and COVID-19 — integrating animal models, systems biology, and translational approaches to investigate host immune responses, transcriptional regulation in bacterial pathogens, genome-wide transcriptional analysis, biomarker discovery, and host-directed therapeutic strategies.
Dr. Subbian's laboratory has pioneered the use of rabbit models of pulmonary tuberculosis to study disease states that closely mirror human TB, including active cavitary disease, spontaneous latency, and tuberculous meningitis. His team has made significant contributions to host-directed therapy (HDT) for TB, demonstrating that phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4) inhibition can improve antibiotic efficacy and reduce lung pathology.
Dr. Subbian earned his B.Sc. in Biochemistry from Bharathiar University (India), his M.Sc. in Biomedical Genetics from the University of Madras, and his Ph.D. in Basic Medical Sciences from the Tuberculosis Research Center of the Indian Council of Medical Research, affiliated with The Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University. He completed postdoctoral training at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Texas A&M Health Science Center, and PHRI at New Jersey Medical School. He has authored more than 110 peer-reviewed publications and seven book chapters, serves as a reviewer for more than 75 scientific journals and multiple international funding agencies including NIH/NIAID, and is an editorial board member for several international journals. His honors include the "Faculty of the Year" award from New Jersey Medical School (2021) and the Young Investigator Award from the Theobald Smith Society of the American Society for Microbiology (2017).
Jun Liu, the Chief Executive Officer of Curanex, commented “We are honored to welcome Dr. Kambayashi and Dr. Subbian to our Scientific Advisory Board. Their deep expertise in immune signaling, host–pathogen interactions, and translational medicine is directly relevant to Curanex’s mission and will be invaluable as we complete our FDA-required preclinical studies and prepare our IND submission and clinical trials, targeted in the fourth quarter of 2026. Their scientific rigor and breadth of experience will strengthen our research strategy and help position us for a successful path to regulatory approval.”
About Curanex Pharmaceuticals Inc
Curanex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a developmental-stage pharmaceutical company headquartered in Jericho, New York, dedicated to discovering and developing botanical drugs for inflammatory diseases. Its lead candidate, Phyto-N, is a botanical extract from a single plant with proven anti-inflammatory properties that acts via multiple targets and mechanisms. Phyto-N has a long history of human use, having treated thousands of patients with inflammatory diseases over 30 years in China, demonstrating favorable tolerability.
The Company has validated Phyto-N's effects in animal models of six inflammatory diseases: ulcerative colitis, atopic dermatitis, COVID-19, diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and gout. The Company's primary development focus is moderate to severe ulcerative colitis. Phyto-N is currently advancing through FDA-required preclinical studies in preparation for an Investigational New Drug (IND) submission, with Phase I clinical trials targeted to initiate in the fourth quarter of 2026, pending completion of required studies and regulatory clearance.
For more information, visit the Company’s website at www.curanexpharma.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements other than statements of historical fact in this announcement are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that the Company believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. Investors can identify these forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “potential,” “continue,” “is/are likely to” or other similar expressions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that such expectations will turn out to be correct, and the Company cautions investors that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results and encourages investors to review other factors that may affect its future results in the Company’s registration statement and in its other filings with the SEC.
For more information, please contact:
Curanex Pharmaceuticals Inc
Attn: Liqin Xie, Chief Operating Officer
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