Somatolynk, Inc. is a drug discovery and development company (incorporated in Delaware, 2017) focused on therapeutics targeting somatostatin receptors. Our program is dedicated to the advancement of orally bioavailable small-molecule somatostatin receptor medications with applications for Alzheimer's, neuropsychiatric disorders, epilepsy, and inflammatory conditions. ​
Team
Kenneth Witt PhD
CEO/Founder
Dr. Witt founded Somatolynk in 2017 to develop therapeutics for Alzheimer’s and other neurological conditions. He has over 25 years of experience as a pharmacologist, with focus on disorders of the brain. He received his PhD from the University of Arizona, College of Medicine, in pharmacology and toxicology.
Well versed in numerous analytical and molecular biology techniques, with a strong history in rodent modeling, DMPK, and behavioral and pathological assessment. His research and focus in somatostatin-based therapeutics spans two decades and numerous collaborations, as well as funding by the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging. He also holds a Professorship in the department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
A. Michael Crider PhD
CSO
​Dr. Crider is a medicinal chemist with over 40 years experience in the design, synthesis, and development of small molecules. He received his PhD from the University of Kentucky in Pharmaceutical Chemistry. His research experience spans drug design, organic synthesis and in the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of drug molecules. He has had a number of industrial collaborations (Novo Nordisk, Alcon) for the development of various therapeutic small molecules. He has numerous publications on the development of small molecule somatostatin receptor agonists, discovering the first high affinity and selective somatostatin receptor-4 agonist (NNC 26-9100). He holds an Emeritus Professorship in the department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Karin Sandoval PhD, MSPH
Senior Scientist
Dr. Sandoval has over 25 years of experience as a pharmacologist, with focus on neuropathology. She received her PhD from the University of Arizona, College of Medicine, in pharmacology and neuroscience. She also received a MSPH in epidemiology from University of St. Louis, College of Public Health. Her research in Alzheimer's spans both bench-top drug discovery and epidemiological data evaluations. On the somatostatin receptor subtype-4 (SST4) lead optimization program, she leads the screening assays (e.g. receptor affinity, receptor selectivity, receptor activity, and impacts on Aβ using ELISAs, and cell culture methods), as well as neprilysin activity assays. She also has a strong history of research with laboratory rodent modeling/assessments (dosing, surgical procedures, behavior, behavioral analysis, etc.), as well as a significant background statistical assessment. She also holds a Research Associate Professorship in department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Tim McPherson PhD
Advisory
Dr. McPherson's has over 30 years in pharmaceutics has broadly focused on DMPK, formulation, and analysis of drug delivery systems. He received his Ph.D. in pharmaceutics from Purdue University, and a postdoctoral fellowship in the Hillenbrand Biomedical Engineering Center at Purdue. Research focus in screening potential drug candidates for their relevant physical properties and designing appropriate delivery systems for the compounds. Further researching the design of custom surfactants and nanoparticals to enhance the oral and nasal delivery of poorly water soluble compounds. He also has expertise in enhancing the stability of pharmacist-prepared extemporaneous formulations. He holds a Professorship in department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Maria Kontoyianni PhD
Advisory
Dr. Kontoyianni is a computational chemist with over 30 years experience. She received a PhD from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Her work in industry spans Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble, where she applied structure-based design to various therapeutic targets ranging from hit to lead optimization. She was also the Head of Drug Discovery at Crystax, a fragment-based biotechnology firm in Barcelona. She has worked extensively on optimizing somatatostatin receptor targeting for over a decade. She holds a Professorship in department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.