ABLi Therapeutics Appoints Industry Veteran Dr. Rachelle S. Doody to its Board of Directors

Dr. Doody joins from Senior Leadership in Neurodegeneration at F. Hoffman-LaRoche LTD and biotech Axxium Life

ATLANTA and BOSTON, May 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ABLi Therapeutics (“ABLi”), a biotechnology company developing therapeutics to address diseases that arise from activation of Abelson Tyrosine Kinases (c-Abl kinases), announces the appointment of world renowned industry veteran in clinical development of neurodegeneration therapeutics, Rachelle S. Doody, MD, PhD, to the ABLi Board of Directors.

Dr. Doody has over 10 years of pharmaceutical leadership experience in clinical development of therapeutics to fight neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. She was Global Head of Neurodegeneration in late stage Neuroscience at F. Hoffman-LaRoche (Roche) where she led the development of the monoclonal antibodies Crenezumab and Gantenerumab for familial and sporadic AD; led the late stage development for Tominersin, an antisense oligonucleotide for Huntington’s Disease, and led the late-stage development program for Prasinezumab, an anti-alpha synuclein monoclonal antibody for Parkinson’s disease that is now in Phase 3 development. After leaving Roche in 2024, she joined the biotechnology company Axxium Life as Chief Medical Officer and Director of Development, where she oversees a pipeline of active immunotherapy medications directed against chronic and neurodegenerative diseases.

Prior to her tenure at Roche, Dr. Doody was the Effie Marie Cain Chair in Alzheimer’s Disease research at Baylor College of Medicine and is presently a Distinguished Emeritus Professor in Neurology.

Dr. Doody trained in internal medicine at McGill University, the Royal Victoria Hospital and the Montreal Neurological Hospital and Institute and did her residency in Neurology at Baylor where she honed her interests and expertise in Alzheimer’s Disease. Her PhD work in cognitive anthropology was completed at Rice University.

“The appointment of Dr. Doody brings to the ABLi Board an industry leader in the development of neurodegenerative disease therapeutics,” said Dr. Milton Werner, ABLi’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Dr. Doody will advise the company on management best practices and clinical trial design as we prepare to launch our Phase 3 programs for Parkinson’s, Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) and Dementia with Lewy Body (DLB).”

“Patients with neurodegenerative diseases need more and better treatments than what is available today. I am pleased to join the Board at ABLi to extend my assistance to another promising biotechnology company with the potential to really impact the synucleinopathies, such as Parkinson’s disease, MSA and DLB.”

About Risvodetinib (ABLi-148009)

Risvodetinib is a potent, selective small-molecule inhibitor of the non-receptor c-Abl kinases, designed for once-daily oral use that targets the underlying biological mechanisms driving Parkinson’s disease initiation and progression. Risvodetinib has been demonstrated to modify the PD pathophysiologic pathway and shown to impact the neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory disease processes in humans as a once-per-day oral therapy. All marketed therapeutic approaches to treat Parkinson’s disease help manage symptoms, but there are currently no available treatments to slow or stop the disease’s relentless progression.   Recently, risvodetinib was the first monotherapy to improve patient quality of life in a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial (NCT NCT05424276) and simultaneously reduced the underlying disease pathology and suppressed the underlying disease process in patients with untreated Parkinson’s disease. Risvodetinib currently has intellectual property protection beyond 2036.

About ABLi Therapeutics

ABLi Therapeutics (“ABLi”) applies innovative medicinal chemistry and a deep understanding of disease biology to develop small molecule therapeutics that target the cause of diseases that arise from activation or dysfunction of the Abelson Tyrosine Kinases (c-Abl). Leveraging its expertise in drug design, ABLi utilizes clinically validated data of kinase inhibitors to design and develop novel product candidates with enhanced penetration into the brain, greater potency and target selectivity, and improved safety to treat diseases in which Abl kinase activation or dysfunction is implicated. The Company’s primary focus is on developing therapeutics for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s disease and the Parkinson’s-related neurodegenerative diseases Multiple System Atrophy and Dementia with Lewy Body that are all associated with Abl kinase activation or dysfunction. For more information visit www.ablitherapeutics.com or follow us on LinkedIn and X.

Contacts:

For ABLi Therapeutics
Milton H Werner PhD
Chairman & CEO
info@ablitherapeutics.com

Investor/Media
Mike Moyer
Managing Director – LifeSci Advisors
mmoyer@lifesciadvisors.com

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