Alfred Sandrock, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of
Biogen, Joins Flex Pharma’s Scientific Advisory Board
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June 15, 2015
Boston, MA – Flex Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLKS), a biotechnology company that
is developing innovative and proprietary treatments for exercise-associated
muscle cramps, nocturnal leg cramps, and spasms associated with severe
neuromuscular conditions, today announced that Alfred Sandrock, Jr., M.D.,
Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of Biogen (NASDAQ: BIIB), has joined its Scientific
Advisory Board.
“Given Dr. Sandrock’s distinguished track record of success in the development
and approval of several major therapeutic advances in neurology, Al is a
tremendous addition to our Scientific Advisory Board,” stated Rod MacKinnon,
M.D., Nobel Laureate and Flex Pharma Co-Founder, Board member, and Co-Chair
of the Company’s Scientific Advisory Board.
"Flex Pharma’s strategy of stimulating particular nerves by TRP channel
activation has opened a potentially important, novel means of therapeutic
neurostimulation, via topically acting ion channel agonists,” commented Dr.
Sandrock. “I am excited to join this preeminent group of scientific luminaries on
Flex Pharma’s Scientific Advisory Board.”
Alfred Sandrock, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., is Biogen’s Group Senior Vice President of
Development Sciences and Chief Medical Officer. Since joining Biogen in 1998,
Dr. Sandrock has held several senior executive positions, including Senior Vice
President of Development Sciences, Senior Vice President of Neurology Research
and Development, and Vice President of Clinical Development, Neurology. During
his tenure at Biogen, Dr. Sandrock has been responsible for the clinical
development and approval of Tysabri®, Plegridy®, Tecfidera®, Alprolix®, and
Eloctate®.
Dr. Sandrock received his B.A. in human biology from Stanford University, an
M.D. from Harvard Medical School, and a Ph.D. in neurobiology from Harvard
University. He completed an internship in medicine, a residency and chief
residency in neurology, and a clinical fellowship in Neuromuscular Disease and
Clinical Neurophysiology (electromyography) at Massachusetts General Hospital.
“As faculty at Harvard Medical School, Rod and I enjoyed our interactions with Al
as an M.D./Ph.D. student, and now look forward to working with him on Flex
Pharma’s development efforts, which will be greatly enhanced by his
development expertise in neurology,” remarked Bruce Bean, Ph.D., Flex Pharma
Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Company’s Scientific Advisory Board.
“With our shared experience as M.D./Ph.D. candidates at Harvard, I look forward
to working closely with Al as we aspire to build a leading neuromuscular
company," said CEO of Flex Pharma, Christoph Westphal, M.D., Ph.D.
Also on the Scientific Advisory Board of Flex Pharma are:

Rod MacKinnon, M.D., Co-Founder and Chair, is an Investigator at Howard
Hughes Medical Institute and the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Professor,
Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology and Biophysics at The Rockefeller
University, member of the National Academy of Sciences and recipient of
the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Bruce Bean, Ph.D., Co-Founder and Chair, is the Robert Winthrop
Professor of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School and is a member of
the National Academy of Sciences.

David Julius, Ph.D., is a Professor and Chair, Department of Physiology,
University of California, San Francisco and member of the National
Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Julius has
published several papers on the structure of TRPA1 and TRPV1 ion
channels in Nature.

Roger Tung, Ph.D., is scientific Founder, President, and Chief Executive
Officer of Concert Pharmaceuticals, Inc., founding scientist and former
Vice President of Drug Discovery of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and a coinventor of Lexiva® and Agenerase®.

Christopher Walsh, Ph.D., is an emeritus professor from the Department
of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Harvard Medical
School. He is currently a consulting professor, Department of Chemistry at
Stanford University and an advisor to the ChEM-H center at Stanford. He
is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of
Medicine.

John Winkelman, M.D., Ph.D., is Chief of the Sleep Disorders Clinical
Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Winkelman’s
clinical research has included clinical trials in sleep-related movement
disorders, particularly extensive involvement in the development of
approved agents for restless legs syndrome.
About Flex Pharma
Flex Pharma, Inc. is a biotechnology company that is developing innovative and
proprietary treatments for exercise-associated muscle cramps, nocturnal leg
cramps, and spasms associated with severe neuromuscular conditions. In three
randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled, cross-over studies, Flex Pharma's
proprietary treatment has shown a statistically significant reduction in the
intensity of muscle cramps in healthy normal volunteers.
Flex Pharma was founded by National Academy of Sciences members Rod
MacKinnon, M.D. (2003 Nobel Laureate), and Bruce Bean, Ph.D., recognized
leaders in the fields of ion channels and neurobiology, along with Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer Christoph Westphal, M.D., Ph.D.
Follow Flex Pharma on twitter @flexphama and visit the Company’s web site
(www.ItsTheNerve.com and www.flex-pharma.com) for updates of the
Company’s pre-launch activities for its consumer product to prevent and treat
exercise-associated muscle cramps.
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Contact:
Elizabeth Woo
SVP, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Flex Pharma, Inc.
irdept@flex-pharma.com
617-874-1829