Matthew Surman

Company: Curia Global, Inc.

Job title: Associate Director - Medicinal Chemistry

 

Seminars:

Discovery of Nonretinoid Antagonists of Retinol-Binding Protein 4 for the Treatment of Atrophic Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Stargardt Disease 4:00 pm

  • Antagonists of retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) impede ocular uptake of serum all-trans retinol and have been shown to reduce cytotoxic bisretinoid formation in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), which is associated with the pathogenesis of both atrophic age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and Stargardt disease
  • Computer-assisted drug design based around several RBP4 protein crystal structures was used to help design and computationally evaluate novel nonretinoid RBP4 antagonists
  • Potent RBP4 antagonists were identified with favorable drug-like characteristics that reduced circulating plasma RBP4 levels, demonstrating in vivo target engagement and potential as oral treatments for atrophic AMD and Stargardt disease

day: Day 1

Matt Surman, Ph.D. is Associate Director of Medicinal Chemistry at Curia Global and has over 20 years of industry experience. He joined the Curia Medicinal Chemistry department in 2002 and worked on contract research projects spanning a variety of therapeutic areas including oncology, anti-infectives and CNS disorders. From 2005 to 2011, he was part of the Curia internal Discovery Research and Development department. His efforts were focused in the area of metabolic disorders, particularly in obesity. He served as the project leader for the Curia MCH-1 antagonist program from 2008 until returning to the Medicinal Chemistry department in late 2011. During that time, the project culminated in the discovery and development of a successful Phase I clinical candidate. Since returning to the Medicinal Chemistry department, Dr. Surman has led the discovery efforts on a number of programs including projects involved in oncology, neurological disease, and pain. Multiple pre-clinical and clinical candidates have arisen from these efforts. Dr. Surman has over 40 peer reviewed publications and patent applications.

Surman_Headshot