Pano Therapeutics Expands Advisory Network Supporting PAN1195 Development
May 28, 2026 — Pano Therapeutics today announced the expansion of its scientific and clinical advisory network supporting the development of PAN1195, the company’s lead CNS-optimized biguanide for Fragile X Syndrome. The expanded network reflects a three-tier advisory architecture spanning mechanistic pharmacology, clinical development and biomarker strategy, and biguanide class regulatory expertise.
New members of Pano’s Scientific Advisory Board include:
Eric M. Parker, PhD — Senior CNS translational scientist with leadership experience at Curie.Bio, Kallyope, Merck, and BMS. Brings expertise in translational PK/PD, target engagement strategy, and IND architecture directly relevant to PAN1195’s biomarker-led development plan.
New members of Pano’s Clinical Advisory Board include:
Joseph P. Horrigan, MD — Executive Vice President, Clinical and Medical Affairs at Engrail Therapeutics. A leading expert in the development of therapeutics for neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders, with experience spanning the Phase 2 randomized controlled trial of trofinetide in Fragile X Syndrome and the subsequent FDA approval of trofinetide as Daybue for Rett syndrome — the first and currently only FDA-approved drug for a neurodevelopmental disorder indication.
Randi J. Hagerman, MD — Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics and Endowed Chair in Fragile X Research at the UC Davis MIND Institute. One of the world’s foremost clinical authorities in Fragile X Syndrome and the principal investigator of the UC Davis MIND Institute’s randomized clinical trial of metformin in Fragile X Syndrome.
Sarah Lippé, PhD — Developmental neurophysiologist at the Université de Montréal and CHU Sainte-Justine. Her published work has helped define Fragile X Syndrome-specific resting-state EEG biomarkers, and she serves as PI of the EEG sub-study within the UC Davis MIND Institute metformin trial in Fragile X Syndrome.
Advisory architecture and rationale
Pano’s advisors have been selected to cover the complete scientific and clinical development pathway for PAN1195, spanning upstream pharmacology targeting mitochondria and cellular energetics, downstream circuit and behavioral biology, orphan neurodevelopmental disorder clinical development, and biguanide-class regulatory strategy. Pano’s Scientific and Clinical Advisory Boards provide mechanistic authority across the biguanide pharmacological chain together with development and clinical experience relevant to translating that biology into a clinical program.
Pano’s Scientific Advisory Board is chaired by Morris J. Birnbaum, MD/PhD, former SVP & CSO of Pfizer’s internal medicine research unit, and senior author of the landmark 2013 Nature paper defining biguanide mechanism in vivo. Navdeep S. Chandel, PhD, provided the definitive in vivo genetic proof that mitochondrial Complex I is metformin’s molecular target, and his broader work reconceived the mitochondrial electron transport chain as an active cellular signaling platform — the mechanistic foundation for how partial Complex I engagement produces effects beyond cellular energy metabolism. Eric M. Parker, PhD, contributes CNS translational pharmacology and IND architecture experience. Robert H. Ring, PhD, serves on the SAB as Lead Neurodevelopmental Disorder Advisor; he most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of Kaerus Bioscience through the company’s acquisition by Servier Pharmaceuticals in 2025, and earlier as Chief Scientific Officer of Autism Speaks and Head of the Autism Research Unit at Pfizer.
Pano’s Clinical Advisory Board provides Fragile X Syndrome clinical authority, biguanide-specific human neurophysiological biomarker expertise, and direct orphan neurodevelopmental disorder FDA approval experience, as summarized above. Zan Fleming, MD, serves as Pano’s Regulatory Advisor. Dr. Fleming was an FDA reviewer for the original metformin New Drug Application during his service in the FDA Division of Metabolism and Endocrine Drug Products from 1986 to 1998 and is a co-author of the definitive published review of biguanide-class safety and metformin-associated lactic acidosis.
“The depth and breadth of expertise we have assembled across mechanism, clinical development, biomarker strategy, regulatory planning, and NDD biotech strategy is one of Pano’s most important assets,” said Ben Gibson, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Pano Therapeutics. “PAN1195 is being advanced with a level of scientific and clinical rigor that reflects the opportunity for a CNS-optimized biguanide drug candidate, as well as the seriousness of the unmet need in Fragile X Syndrome and across syndromic neurodevelopmental disorders.”
“For many years I have been encouraged by the prospects of metformin and the broader biguanide class in Fragile X Syndrome — through the clinical research my colleagues and I have conducted at the UC Davis MIND Institute, the published international randomized trial on which I am a co-author, and the foundational preclinical work establishing the underlying biology,” said Dr. Randi J. Hagerman. “It is encouraging to see a CNS-optimized biguanide enter development specifically for Fragile X Syndrome, and I am pleased to support Pano’s program through its Clinical Advisory Board.”
About Pano Therapeutics
Pano Therapeutics is a preclinical-stage biotechnology company developing CNS-optimized biguanides for neurodevelopmental disorders. The company’s lead candidate, PAN1195, is being advanced toward clinical development in Fragile X Syndrome, with planned expansion in Phelan-McDermid Syndrome and Tuberous Sclerosis Complex. Pano’s development strategy is anchored in cross-species quantitative EEG and pharmacodynamic biomarkers intended to support objective target engagement and disciplined clinical learning. For more information, visit www.panotherapeutics.com.
Media Contact
Ben Gibson, CEO — ben@panotherapeutics.com