About|Trevi Therapeutics

Passionate about Progress

We are developing the investigational therapy Haduvio™ (nalbuphine ER) to treat serious neurologically mediated conditions by targeting the central and peripheral nervous systems.

Haduvio™ is an oral, extended-release formulation of nalbuphine. The approved injectable formulation has a long history of efficacy and safety, having been approved for more than 40 years in the United States and Europe for relief of moderate to severe pain in the hospital setting. Our novel oral formulation has the potential to unlock new market opportunities and significantly improve the quality of life of patients who currently have few treatment options.

Nalbuphine has a dual mechanism of action, acting as both an antagonist (blocker) to the body’s mu opioid receptor and as an agonist (activator) to the kappa opioid receptor. The kappa and mu opioid receptors are known to be critical mediators of the urges to scratch and cough, as well as of certain movement disorders. Nalbuphine’s mechanism of action may also mitigate the risk of abuse associated with mu opioid agonists because it blocks the mu opioid receptor. The injectable form of nalbuphine is currently the only opioid approved for marketing that is not a controlled substance in the United States or Europe.

We are developing the investigational therapy Haduvio™ for the treatment of chronic pruritus, chronic cough in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID) in patients with Parkinson’s disease. These conditions share a common pathophysiology that is mediated through opioid receptors in the central and peripheral nervous systems. We are conducting a Phase 2b/3 clinical trial of Haduvio™ (PRISM) for the treatment of chronic pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis (PN). In addition, we initiated a Phase 2 clinical trial of Haduvio™ for the treatment of chronic cough in patients with IPF and we are preparing to initiate a Phase 2 clinical trial of Haduvio™ for the treatment of LID in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

Founded in 2011, Trevi Therapeutics is headquartered and proud to be part of the vibrant life science community in New Haven, CT.

leadership

Backed by expert scientific and medical advisors and dedicated to our stockholders, the Trevi leadership team is highly engaged and experienced in life science clinical development, successful commercialization, and building value.

Management Team

Jennifer Good

Co-Founder,
President and CEO

Thomas Sciascia, M.D.

Co-Founder,
Chief Medical Officer

William Forbes, Pharm.D.

Chief Development Officer

Lisa Delfini

Chief Financial Officer

Board of Directors

David Meeker, M.D. – Chairman

David Meeker, M.D. has served as a member of our board of directors and our chairman since July 2017. Dr. Meeker has served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company, since July 2020. Prior to joining Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Meeker was Chief Executive Officer and director of KSQ Therapeutics, Inc., from September 2017 to July 2020 and worked at Sanofi Genzyme from October 2011 to June 2017, in a variety of roles, including President and Chief Executive Officer of Genzyme, a Sanofi Company from October 2011 until January 2016, as a member of Sanofi’s Executive Committee from 2012 to June 2017 and as Executive Vice President and head of Sanofi Genzyme, Sanofi’s specialty care unit with responsibility for rare diseases, multiple sclerosis, oncology and immunology franchises, from January 2016 to June 2017. Prior to the acquisition of Genzyme by Sanofi in 2011, Dr. Meeker worked at Genzyme Corporation, beginning in 1994 as medical director, and held positions of increasing responsibility, ultimately serving as Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining Genzyme, Dr. Meeker was director of the Pulmonary Critical Care Fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic and an Assistant Professor of medicine at Ohio State University. Dr. Meeker has served as a director of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, since November 2015 and as its chairman of the board since April 2017. He has served as Chairman of Pharvaris, a publicly traded company, since January 2021 . Dr. Meeker has also served as a director of MyoKardia, Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, from June 2017 to December 2020. Dr. Meeker holds a medical degree from the University of Vermont Medical School and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School in 2000. He completed his internal medicine training at Harvard University’s Beth Israel Hospital and pulmonary/critical care training at Boston University.

James Cassella, Ph.D.

James Cassella, Ph.D. has served as a member of our board of directors since February 2020. Dr. Cassella has served as Chief Development Officer for Concert Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly-traded biotechnology company, since February 2015. Prior to joining Concert, Dr. Cassella served as Executive Vice President, Research and Development and Chief Scientific Officer of Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from July 2012 to January 2015 and served as its Senior Vice President, Research and Development from June 2004 to July 2012. From April 1989 to April 2004, Dr. Cassella held various management positions, including Senior Vice President of Clinical Research and Development at Neurogen Corporation, a publicly traded biotechnology company. Prior to Neurogen, Dr. Cassella was Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at Oberlin College. Dr. Cassella received a Ph.D. in Physiological Psychology from Dartmouth College, completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine and received a B.A. in Psychology from the University of New Haven.

Dominick Colangelo

Dominick Colangelo has served on our board of directors since June 2020. Mr. Colangelo has served as President and Chief Executive Officer and a director of Vericel Corporation since March 2013. Mr. Colangelo has more than 20 years of executive management and corporate development experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, including nearly a decade with Eli Lilly. During his career, he has held a variety of executive positions of increasing responsibility in product development, pharmaceutical operations, sales and marketing, and corporate development. He has extensive experience in the acquisition, development and commercialization of products across a variety of therapeutic areas. During his tenure at Eli Lilly, he held positions as Director of Strategy and Business Development for Eli Lilly’s Diabetes Product Group and also served as a founding Managing Director of Lilly Ventures. Mr. Colangelo received a B.S.B.A. in Accounting from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a J.D. from the Duke University School of Law.

Jennifer Good

Jennifer Good is our co-founder and has served as a member of our board of directors and as our President and Chief Executive Officer since our inception in March 2011. Previously, Ms. Good served at Penwest Pharmaceuticals Co., or Penwest, from 1997 to 2010, where she held various positions including President and Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Good has served on the board of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, a publicly-traded biopharmaceutical company, since June 2019. Previously, Ms. Good served on the board of Juniper Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly traded healthcare company, from September 2017 until it was acquired by Catalent, Inc. in August 2018. Ms. Good has also served as a board member of the Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA), a patient advocacy group advancing treatments for the cure of Friedreich’s Ataxia, since 2011. Ms. Good received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a concentration in accounting from Pacific Lutheran University in 1987 and is a Certified Public Accountant licensed by the State of Washington, although her license is currently inactive.

Michael Heffernan

Michael Heffernan has served on our board of directors since February 2017. Mr. Heffernan served as the President, Chief Executive Officer and director of Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc., a publicly traded pharmaceutical company, from October 2002 until July 2018, at which time he transitioned to the role of chairman of the board of directors. He also founded Precision Dermatology, previously Onset Therapeutics, LLC, a dermatology-focused company, and served as its President and Chief Executive Officer from 2005 to 2010. Mr. Heffernan previously founded and served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Clinical Studies Ltd., a pharmaceutical contract research organization that was sold to PhyMatrix Corp., from 1994 to 1999, and subsequently served as President and Chief Executive Officer of PhyMatrix from 1999 to 2002. Mr. Heffernan started his career at Eli Lilly and Company, where he held numerous sales and marketing roles. Mr. Heffernan has served on the board of directors of Akebia Therapeutics, a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, since December 2018, Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, since January 2020 and Synlogic, Inc, a publicly traded company since December 2020. Mr. Heffernan served on the board of directors of Veloxis Pharmaceuticals A/S, a specialty pharmaceutical company that is publicly traded on Nasdaq OMX Copenhagen, from April 2015 until February 2020, and served as its chairman from April 2016 until February 2020. Mr. Heffernan also previously served on the board of directors of Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly traded pharmaceutical company, from April 2016 until December 2018, and on the board of directors of Ocata Therapeutics, Inc., a publicly traded biotechnology company, from April 2012 to February 2016, and has served on the board of several privately held companies. Mr. Heffernan graduated from the University of Connecticut with a B.S. in pharmacy in 1987 and is a registered pharmacist.

Ed Mathers

Edward Mathers has served on our board of directors since July 2017. Mr. Mathers has been a partner at New Enterprise Associates, Inc., a private venture capital firm, since August 2008. Mr. Mathers has served as a director of multiple publicly traded biopharmaceutical companies including ObsEva SA, since November 2015, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Inc., since March 2013, Synlogic, Inc., since October 2012, Inozyme Pharma, Inc. since January 2017 and Mirum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. since November 2018. Mr. Mathers has also served on the board of directors at Akouos, Inc., a publicly traded biotechnology company, since October 2017. He previously served as a director of Liquidia Technologies, Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, from April 2009 until May 2019, and as a director of Ra Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly traded pharmaceutical company, from February 2010 until April 2020. He is also on the board of a number of private life sciences companies. Mr. Mathers earned his B.S. in chemistry from North Carolina State University.

Anne VanLent

Anne VanLent has served on our board of directors since October 2018. Since May 2008, Ms. VanLent has been President of AMV Advisors, providing corporate strategy and financial consulting services to emerging growth life sciences companies. Ms. VanLent was the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Barrier Therapeutics, Inc., a publicly traded pharmaceutical company, from 2002 through 2008. From 1997 to 2001, she was the Executive Vice President – Portfolio Management for Sarnoff Corporation, a multidisciplinary research and development firm. From 1985 to 1993, she served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of The Liposome Company, Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company that was acquired by Elan Corp. plc. Ms. VanLent has served as a member of the board of directors and audit committee chair of Applied Genetics Technologies Corporation, a publicly traded biotechnology company, since August 2016. From May 2013 to June 2020, Ms. VanLent also served as a member of the board of directors of Vaxart, Inc. (formerly Aviragen Therapeutics, Inc.), a publicly traded biotechnology company. Ms. VanLent served as a director of Ocera Therapeutics, Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company acquired by Mallinckrodt plc, from 2011 to December 2017; Novelion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (formerly Aegerion Pharmaceuticals), a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, from March 2013 to June 2017; and Onconova Therapeutics, Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, from June 2013 to May 2016. Ms. VanLent received a B.A. degree in physics from Mount Holyoke College.

Jennifer Good

Co-Founder, President and CEO

Jennifer Good is our co-founder and has served as a member of our board of directors and as our President and Chief Executive Officer since our inception in March 2011. Previously, Ms. Good served at Penwest Pharmaceuticals, where she held various positions including President and Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Good currently serves on the board of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly traded rare disease company. Ms. Good previously served on the board of Juniper Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly traded healthcare company, from September 2017 until it was acquired in August 2018. Ms. Good currently serves as a board member of the Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA), a patient advocacy group advancing treatments for the cure of Friedreich’s Ataxia, and is the Treasurer for a non-profit organization, Newtown Youth and Family Services, which provides mental health services and programs to support the community. Ms. Good is also one of the board members of the BIO Emerging Companies Section (ECS) Governing Board, a board member of the Executive Women in Bio, CT Chapter and is a Co-Chair of the New Haven Regional Bioscience Collaborative. Ms. Good received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a concentration in accounting from Pacific Lutheran University in 1987 and is a Certified Public Accountant licensed by the State of Washington, although her license is currently inactive.

Lisa Delfini

Chief Financial Officer

Lisa Delfini has served as our Chief Financial Officer since August 2021. Ms. Delfini joins Trevi with 30 years of experience in the financial sector. Her background includes helping public and private companies with finance transformation and preparing for and executing capital raising activities, acquisitions, and other complex financial and accounting matters. As a Financial Accounting and Advisory Services Partner at Marcum LLP, Ms. Delfini led a team of professionals who provided advisory services on financial activities to companies. In this role, she served as interim CFO, CAO or controller for companies in multiple sectors, including pharmaceuticals. Previously, Ms. Delfini worked at General Electric where she was the Global Controller for the GE Corporate Technical Center of Excellence (TCOE) and then became the Global Controller for GE Industrial Solutions. Ms. Delfini began her career at Deloitte & Touche LLP where she worked for 16 years and completed her time there as a Client Service Partner. She holds a B.S. in Accounting from Lehigh University and is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Connecticut.

Thomas Sciascia, M.D.

Co-Founder, Chief Medical Officer

Thomas Sciascia, M.D. is our co-founder, and has served as our Chief Medical Officer since our inception in March 2011. Previously, Dr. Sciascia was the Senior Vice President of Clinical Developmentand Regulatory and Chief Medical Officer at Penwest. Prior to joining Penwest, Dr. Sciascia worked at Quintiles, Inc. as a consultant to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Dr. Sciascia also worked as Medical Director at Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc. (later acquired by Shire Pharmaceuticals Group plc). Dr. Sciascia received a B.S. in biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a medical degree from Columbia University. He is a board-certified neurologist licensed to practice medicine in the state of Massachusetts.

William Forbes, Pharm.D.

Chief Development Officer

William Forbes, Pharm.D. has served as our Chief Development Officer since February 2021. Dr. Forbes joins Trevi with over 30 years of experience in pharmaceutical product development. Before joining Trevi, he served as Founder, President and CEO of Vivelix Pharmaceuticals. Prior to Vivelix, Dr. Forbes held multiple senior leadership positions throughout his career, including Chief Development Officer for Salix Pharmaceuticals where he was responsible for the development of Xifaxan (rifaximin) in multiple indications. Dr. Forbes’ contributions at Salix were instrumental in guiding 12 FDA approvals. He holds a Pharm.D. from Creighton University.