Bexorg, a New Haven-based precision neurology company, has appointed Bruce Car, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer and Michael Fenn, Ph.D., as Chief Business Officer, expanding its central nervous system (CNS) drug discovery platform.
Dr. Car joins Bexorg from Biohaven, where he served as Chief Scientific Officer and helped develop BHV-8100, now in a Phase 1 clinical trial and the first drug whose human brain pharmacology was characterized by Bexorg's platform before first-in-human dosing.
Zvonimir Vrselja, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Bexorg, said, "I have seen firsthand that Bruce is one of the most talented drug discovery leaders in our industry, with an exceptional track record of pairing scientific creativity with disciplined execution. His skills are the perfect complement to our platform and existing team. Together with the recent additions, this newly matured leadership team gives Bexorg a real competitive advantage in the hardest area of drug development, and positions us to lead the next era of CNS drug discovery. It has been my dream to harness this platform to discover medicines that finally turn the corner on neurodegenerative and other CNS diseases; moving patients from a relentless decline in CNS function toward stability, improvement, and durable disease modification."
Prior to Biohaven, Car served as Chief Scientific Officer at Agios Pharmaceuticals and spent 25 years at Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), where he led drug discovery across multiple therapeutic areas and headed BMS's first Translational Medicine team. He has advanced more than 250 drug candidates and contributed to over 20 drug registrations.
"My confidence in the BrainEx platform comes directly from collaborating with the company on development strategy, including clinical endpoint design ahead of Phase 1 initiation for BHV-8100," said Dr. Car. "Bexorg has built a truly differentiated approach to understanding human brain biology, creating an opportunity to unlock insights that could meaningfully improve how CNS therapies are discovered and developed. After years of pharma industry caution in neuroscience, our team is well-positioned to drive the transformational change this field urgently needs."
Dr. Fenn joins Bexorg from Iaso Ventures, where he led CNS-focused venture investments, including backing Neurona Therapeutics ahead of its acquisition by UCB for up to $1.15 billion.
"Bexorg has built something the field has been missing, the ability to see human brain pharmacology before a molecule ever reaches a patient," said Dr. Fenn. "From a business development and asset strategy standpoint, that changes what is possible: it lets us select, license, and partner CNS programs based on evidence the industry has never before possessed. I am excited to help translate that scientific edge into a pipeline and the partnerships to advance it."
Bexorg maintains whole human brain tissue that allows drug candidates to be characterized in human brain biology before reaching patients, pairing that data with artificial intelligence (AI) models trained on the results to select and advance therapeutic programs for neurodegenerative and CNS diseases.
