Dr. Michael J. Sofia to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB).
Dr. Michael J. Sofia has introduced numerous drugs into clinical development for the treatment of infectious diseases and inflammatory diseases. He has authored over 110 publications, 15 book chapters and is an inventor on more than 54 US patents. He is the principal inventor of sofosbuvir, currently marketed as the backbone of hepatitis C curative therapies Sovaldi(R), Harvoni(R), Epclusa(R) and Vosevi(R). Dr. Sofia has received numerous recognitions, including the 2016 Lasker-Debakey Award in Clinical Medical Research and induction in the American Chemical Society Medicinal Chemistry Hall of Fame. Currently, Dr. Sofia is a Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Arbutus Biopharma, Inc., a company focused on the discovery and development of therapies to cure hepatitis B.
“With Mike’s addition to our Scientific Advisory Board, we believe that we have a very well rounded group of experts who can provide ViralClear with guidance on how to best proceed in addressing the current COVID-19 pandemic and other significant viral infections of special interest,” stated Jerome B. Zeldis, M.D., Ph.D., the acting Chief Medical Officer and Head of ViralClear Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Dr. Michael Sofia commented, “I am excited to join the Scientific Advisory Board of ViralClear. The COVID-19 pandemic has called the drug development community to action to find therapies that can combat this disease. ViralClear’s merimepodib is a novel agent with a new mechanism of action that has the potential to help address this pandemic now. I am eager to bring my expertise in antiviral drug development to help ViralClear in its efforts to develop merimepodib for the fight against COVID-19.”
ViralClear recently announced the formation of its Scientific Advisory Board. The goal of the SAB is to review all aspects of drug discovery and development and advise ViralClear on its mission to control emerging infections and viral diseases of special interest, including COVID-19. Robin Robinson, Ph.D., the former Head of Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), and J. Paul Waymack, M.D., ScD, formerly of the Food and Drug Administration, were the first advisors appointed to the SAB.