Company also completes move to New Haven, CT

New Haven, CT, March 26, 2013 – Trevi Therapeutics, Inc., (“Trevi”) a drug development company focused on developing Nalbuphine ER for pruritus, announced today that it has named William J. O'Shea to its Board of Directors and established a Clinical Advisory Board to provide clinical and scientific input into the development strategy for Nalbuphine ER.

Mr. O’Shea comes to Trevi’s Board with strong executive and commercial experience.  He was President and Chief Operating Officer of Sepracor, Inc. from 1999-2007 and spent an additional year as Vice Chairman. Earlier, he was Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing and Medical Affairs for Zeneca Pharmaceuticals (US). Mr. O’Shea was an original angel investor in Trevi and has been involved with the Company since its inception. Trevi’s Board currently includes two representatives of TPG Biotech, Eran Nadav, PhD and Cayce Denton, as well as Jennifer L. Good, Trevi’s Co-founder, President and CEO.  

The Clinical Advisory Board will be chaired by Trevi’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Thomas Sciascia, and will also include Dr. Jeffrey Bernhard and Dr. Dawn McGuire.

Dr. Bernhard is a board-certified dermatologist who is currently in private practice. He is a professor emeritus of medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester.  After 10 years as editor-in-chief, he is now editor emeritus of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.  Dr. Bernhard graduated from Harvard College, was a Knox Fellow at St. John’s College, Cambridge, and then earned his MD at Harvard Medical School. 

Dr. McGuire is a board-certified neurologist and Fellow of the Academy of Neurology, and serves on the faculty of the Neuroscience Institute of the Morehouse School of Medicine. Dr. McGuire was previously the Chief Medical Officer for Acologix, where she worked on the development of a compound in uremic pruritus as well as the only longitudinal study in uremic pruritus. Dr. McGuire holds a BA with High Honors from Princeton University, a Masters in Divinity from Union Theological Seminary and an MD from Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons. 

Jennifer Good said, “We are pleased to be adding depth both commercially and scientifically within Trevi. Jim brings a strong commercial background and executive pharma experience to the Trevi Board of Directors. We also welcome both Jeff and Dawn to the Clinical Advisory Board and welcome their depth of clinical and drug development experience as we move forward with the clinical development of Nalbuphine ER and maximizing the value of Trevi.” 

In addition, Trevi also announced that it completed its move to offices in New Haven, CT, which is a growing area for biotech companies due to the depth of science, pharmaceutical and biotech resources in the area.

About Trevi Therapeutics, Inc.

Trevi Therapeutics, Inc. is a drug development company focused on developing Nalbuphine ER for severe chronic pruritus (itch). Pruritus develops in various dermatologic, metabolic, hematologic and neuropathic conditions. The Company is pursuing uremic pruritus as the lead indication. Uremic pruritus is a persistent and debilitating itch in patients on dialysis that has been associated with increased mortality. Nalbuphine ER is an oral extended release opioid with a unique dual agonist/antagonist mechanism of action, which has been shown in both animal and human clinical studies as being effective in pruritus. Founded in 2011, Trevi is headquartered in New Haven, CT.

For additional information, visit www.trevitherapeutics.com.

# # #

Media contact: Laura Brophy, 203-331-7618, mediarelations@trevitherapeutics.com