Vigil Neuroscience Appoints Christopher J. Silber, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer

WATERTOWN, Mass., Aug. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vigil Neuroscience, Inc. (Nasdaq: VIGL), a clinical-stage biotechnology company committed to harnessing the power of microglia for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, today announced the appointment of Christopher J. Silber, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Silber brings over 30 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience and a track record of clinical and regulatory success developing novel therapeutics in neuroscience.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Silber to Vigil as our new Chief Medical Officer at this pivotal time as we advance VGL101 through Phase 2 clinical development and work towards moving our small molecule program into the clinic later this year,” said Ivana Magovčević-Liebisch, Ph.D., J.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Vigil. “His proven clinical leadership and extensive neuroscience and rare disease drug development experience will be instrumental to our patient-centered mission of developing potentially transformative treatments for rare and common neurodegenerative diseases.”  

Dr. Silber joins Vigil from Nocion Therapeutics, where he was Chief Medical Officer and led the clinical strategy for the company’s small molecule platform, including development of NTX-1175, a new chemical entity for cough indications. Prior to Nocion, he served as Senior Vice President, Clinical Development at Sage Therapeutics, where he led clinical development efforts for the portfolio, supporting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of ZULRESSO^® for the treatment of postpartum depression, zuranolone development for major depressive disorder and postpartum depression, and progression of the early neurology therapeutics pipeline. Previously at Agilis Biotherapeutics, Dr. Silber served as Chief Medical Officer where he oversaw the gene therapy pipeline focused on rare diseases of the CNS, including work contributing to the subsequent approval of Upstaza™ for aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency. He also held positions of increasing responsibilities at Lundbeck, Takeda, Hospira and Abbott Laboratories. Dr. Silber earned his B.A. in Psychology from Tufts University and his M.D. at Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Buffalo. 

“Vigil’s precision-based development approach targeting microglia represents a new frontier in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, which remains an area of high unmet medical need,” said Dr. Silber. “I look forward to applying my experience in clinical development and neuroscience to accelerate the development of the Company’s pipeline assets and support our mission to bring novel therapies to people living with these devastating diseases.”  

About Vigil Neuroscience  
Vigil Neuroscience is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing treatments for both rare and common neurodegenerative diseases by restoring the vigilance of microglia, the sentinel immune cells of the brain. We are utilizing the tools of modern neuroscience drug development across multiple therapeutic modalities in our efforts to develop precision-based therapies to improve the lives of patients and their families. VGL101, our lead clinical candidate, is a fully human monoclonal antibody agonist targeting human triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) in people with adult-onset leukoencephalopathy with axonal spheroids and pigmented glia (ALSP), a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disease. We are also developing a novel small molecule TREM2 agonist program to treat common neurodegenerative diseases associated with microglial dysfunction, with an initial focus on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in genetically defined subpopulations.  

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes certain disclosures that contain “forward-looking statements” of Vigil Neuroscience’s (“Vigil” or the “Company”) that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the federal securities laws, including, without limitation, express or implied statements regarding: the Company’s strategy, business plans and focus; the developmental, regulatory and clinical progress and timing of the preclinical and clinical development of Vigil’s programs and the expected therapeutic benefits of such programs; expectations regarding the development of VGL101 in ALSP and other indications; expectations regarding the development of its small molecule TREM2 agonist program in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD); expectations regarding the development of other pipeline candidates; the anticipated contribution of the Company’s executives to its operations and progress. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties related to uncertainties inherent in the identification and development of product candidates, including the conduct of research activities and the initiation and completion of preclinical studies and clinical trials; uncertainties as to the availability and timing of results and data from preclinical and clinical studies; the timing of the Company’s ability to submit and obtain regulatory clearance for investigational new drug applications and initiate additional clinical trials; whether results from preclinical studies will be predictive of the results of later preclinical studies and clinical trials; the Company’s ability to initiate and complete its current and expected clinical trials; whether Vigil’s cash resources will be sufficient to fund its foreseeable and unforeseeable operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements as well as the risks and uncertainties identified in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including Vigil’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2023 and in any subsequent filings it may make with the SEC. Forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are made as of this date, and Vigil undertakes no duty to update such information except as required under applicable law. Readers should not rely upon the information on this page as current or accurate after its publication date.

Investor Contact:
Leah Gibson
Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Vigil Neuroscience, Inc.
lgibson@vigilneuro.com

Media Contact:
Megan McGrath
MacDougall Advisors
mmcgrath@macdougall.bio