Recludix Pharma Bolsters Scientific Advisory Board with Acclaimed Leaders in the Fields of Rheumatology, Dermatology and JAK/STAT Biology

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Recludix Pharma, a clinical-stage company leading the discovery and development of inhibitors of challenging targets for inflammatory disease, today announced the expansion of its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) to include three additional key opinion leaders: James Krueger, M.D., Ph.D., from The Rockefeller University; Iain McInnes, C.B.E., Ph.D., F.R.C.P., F.R.S.E., F.Med.Sci., from the University of Glasgow; and John O’Shea, M.D., from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS). As an employee of the United States Government and National Institutes of Health, Dr. O’Shea will serve as an SAB member under an official duty authorization (ODA) to provide public benefit by facilitating the development of drugs to treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.

“I have had the privilege of working with Drs. Krueger, McInnes, and O’Shea over the last two decades, applying the discoveries and insights from these esteemed experts towards the development of several important medicines,” said Ajay Nirula M.D., Ph.D., EVP and head of R&D at Recludix. “These scientific visionaries will provide invaluable advice as we advance our first-in-class, oral SH2 domain inhibitors for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. Dr. Krueger is one of the world’s top translational dermatologists who has made key discoveries in inflammatory pathways and has been involved with the development of multiple approved psoriasis therapeutics. Dr. McInnes is a renowned rheumatologist who has defined Europe’s rheumatology research agenda through his work as a former president of EULAR and chairman of the FOREUM Scientific Committee, and by playing a major role in the development of IL17 and IL23 antibodies, as well as JAK inhibitors. Dr. O’Shea is one of the pioneering scientists who discovered the JAK/STAT pathway and has received numerous prestigious awards for his scientific leadership during his tenures at NIAMS, NIH and NCI.”

Nancy Whiting, Pharm.D., president and CEO of Recludix, added, “We are honored to welcome Drs. Krueger, McInnes, and O’Shea — prominent physician scientists who have made seminal contributions to the field of medicine and have been widely recognized as leaders in their fields — to our SAB. I am certain that their preeminent therapeutic area knowledge will be a tremendous asset to Recludix as we develop our pipeline of novel SH2-domain inhibitors for inflammatory diseases.”

James Krueger, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Krueger is at The Rockefeller University in New York City where he serves as its chief executive officer, the head of the Laboratory for Investigative Dermatology, and a senior attending physician and co-director for the hospital’s Center for Clinical and Translational Science. His research group at Rockefeller was the first to conduct clinical trials with specific, targeted immune antagonists in psoriasis, establishing that elimination of pathogenic T cells from skin lesions could reverse the full pathological phenotype of psoriasis. Since then, his group has used immune-based therapeutics to dissect inflammatory pathways and to conduct parallel biomarker studies that define mechanisms of targeted therapeutics in human populations. His group discovered elevated expression of IL-23 in psoriasis lesions and the contribution of this cytokine to an inflammatory axis dominated by Th17 T-cells. This work has also provided the “disease maps” for cytokine-driven inflammation in psoriasis, which has been the basis for biologic therapeutic development for the disease. The successful development of multiple therapeutic antagonists to IL-12/23, IL-23/IL-39, and IL-17 extends from this research and early clinical trials conducted by his group. Dr. Krueger received an A.B. in Biochemistry from Princeton University, a Ph.D. in Virology and Cell Biology from The Rockefeller University, and an M.D. from Cornell University Medical College, where he also completed an internship in internal medicine and residency in dermatology. Dr. Krueger is certified by the American Board of Dermatology and has published hundreds of papers in notable scientific journals.

Iain McInnes, C.B.E., Ph.D., F.R.C.P., F.R.S.E., F.Med.Sci.
Dr. McInnes is the vice principal and head of the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, the Muirhead chair of medicine and Versus Arthritis professor of rheumatology at the University of Glasgow. He was the chief investigator of the IMID-Bio-UK meta-consortium leading the UK effort to discover precision medicine tractable biomarkers for application in immune diseases. He is the past chairman of the FOREUM (Foundation for European Rheumatology Research) Scientific Committee. Dr. McInnes also led the European Roadmap program that defined the research agenda for European rheumatology for the next decade and, from 2019-2021, was president of the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR), the leading transnational society for rheumatology across Europe. Dr. McInnes is one of the leading figures in global research on rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis. His focus has been on the biology of inflammatory cytokines, as well as the mechanisms of co-morbidities in chronic diseases. His work has been hugely influential in driving new approaches and treatments for inflammatory diseases, and he is a pioneer in precision-based medicine for inflammatory arthritis. Dr. McInnes is the recipient of several prestigious awards in recognition of his work, including the Sir James Black Prize Medal by the Royal Society of Edinburgh for his “outstanding contribution to the field of immunology.” He obtained a B.Sc. in Immunology, an M.B.Ch.B., and a Ph.D. from the University of Glasgow. He was honored as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2019 for his contributions to medicine.

John O’Shea, M.D.
Dr. O’Shea served as the scientific director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Intramural Research Program for 20 years and continues to serve as a senior investigator and chief of the Molecular Immunology and Inflammation Branch at NIAMS. He also served as acting director of the NIH Center for Regenerative Medicine and chair of the NIH COVID-19 Candidate and Technologies Portal. He discovered numerous aspects of the JAK-STAT pathway, including identifying the tyrosine kinase JAK3 and demonstrating its role in the pathogenesis of severe combined immunodeficiency, along with other genetic autoimmune and autoinflammatory disorders. Dr. O’Shea and colleagues at the NIH elucidated multiple aspects of the roles of STATs in immune cell differentiation, including innate lymphoid cells and Th1, Th2, and Th17 cells. His laboratory has employed deep sequencing to understand the epigenetic regulation of lymphoid differentiation and the role of STATs in these processes. Dr. O’Shea was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences, the Association of American Physicians, and as a Master of the American College of Rheumatology and a Distinguished Fellow of the American Association of Immunologists. Dr. O’Shea was awarded two U.S. patents related to Janus family kinases and the identification of immune modulators, and he was elected to the National Academy of Inventors. He was also awarded the U.S. Public Health Service Physician Researcher of the Year Award, Lee C. Howley Sr. Prize for Research in Arthritis, Irish Immunology Society Public Lecture Award, Ross Prize in Molecular Medicine, International Cytokine and Interferon Society Millstein Prize, American Association of Immunologists–Steinman Award for Human Immunology Research, and American Society for Clinical Investigation Harrington Prize for Innovation in Medicine.

About Recludix
Recludix is a clinical-stage company with leading, innovative platform approaches to discover and develop potent and selective inhibitors of challenging protein targets. The company’s management team includes industry veterans with a track record of success, including former leaders of Seagen, Blueprint Medicines, and Lilly. Recludix has developed a unique drug discovery platform that integrates custom generated DNA-encoded libraries, massively parallel determination of structure activity relationships, and a proprietary screening tool to ensure selectivity. The company is employing this approach first in the development of SH2 domain inhibitors.

Recludix is conducting a Phase 1 study of REX-8756 (also known as SAR448755), an oral inhibitor of STAT6, in a strategic development and commercialization partnership with Sanofi where Recludix has the option to participate in an equal U.S. profit/loss share. Abnormal activation of STAT6 is found in inflammatory diseases, such as atopic dermatitis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and chronic spontaneous urticaria.

Recludix is also advancing a potential first-in-class BTK SH2 domain inhibitor for B cell or mast cell-driven I&I diseases, as well as additional discovery programs. Recludix was named a 2024 Fierce 15 biotech company. For more information, please visit the company’s website at https://recludixpharma.com.

Recludix Contacts
Matt Caldemeyer
Chief Business Officer
mcaldemeyer@recludix.com

Alexandra Santos
asantos@wheelhouselsa.com

Aljanae Reynolds
areynolds@wheelhouselsa.com