SANDWICH, United Kingdom, Feb. 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Levicept Ltd, a biotechnology company focused on the development of LEVI-04, a first-in-class treatment for osteoarthritis (OA), today announces the appointment of James Sandy as Chief Development Officer (CDO).
James brings over 30 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries covering a wide range of therapeutic areas and development phases I to IV. Most recently he was CDO at F-star Therapeutics where he was responsible for setting the strategy and overseeing the delivery, execution and management of multiple concurrent oncology clinical trials and broader development strategy. Prior to F-star, he held CDO roles at Ellipses Pharma, Immunocore and Creabilis Pharmaceuticals. His earlier career was at AstraZeneca and Pfizer in a variety of senior roles. Over his career, James has taken several drugs to MAA/BLA filing including Celebrex for the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) pain.
Previously a consultant to Levicept, as part of the executive leadership team, James will be responsible for supporting the CEO, previous F-star and Immunocore colleague, Eliot Forster, and CSO and co-founder Simon Westbrook in steering the development of LEVI-04 as well as assisting in a broad range of due diligence and funding activities.
LEVI-04 [p75NTR-Fc] is the first in a new class of novel, safe and efficacious biological therapies being developed for the treatment of symptoms and underlying disease of OA. LEVI-04 inhibits NT-3, one of the neurotrophin family of proteins and has completed a Phase II clinical trial in more than 500 patients with OA.
Levicept was recently granted an IND by the FDA and is planning the design of later phase studies to continue the development of LEVI-04. as a potentially disease-modifying analgesic therapy for OA.
Eliot Forster, CEO of Levicept, said: “LEVI-04 has delivered very impressive Phase II data and is exciting as a potentially ground-breaking therapy in OA. I am delighted to welcome James to the team to support us in steering the best path for its further development. His experience and track record of team leadership and programme delivery will help maximise the chances of LEVI-04 reaching patients with a new, safe treatment for OA.”
James Sandy, CDO of Levicept, said: “I am excited to be part of the Levicept team driving the development of LEVI-04. The safe and effective management of chronic pain conditions remains a critical need in medicine. Existing treatments can often be limited by adverse effects, addiction-liabilities, or poor pain control. Based on clinical studies to date and our understanding of its mode of action, LEVI-04 has the potential to be a breakthrough disease-modifying pain therapy for osteoarthritis. I very much look forward to working with Eliot, Simon and the team to advance LEVI-04 through further studies towards commercialisation.”
Levicept
Eliot Forster, CEO - eliot@levicept.com
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About Levicept – www.levicept.com
Levicept Ltd is a UK-based biotechnology company developing the first in a new class of novel, safe and efficacious biological therapies, LEVI-04 [p75NTR-Fc], for the treatment of osteoarthritis and chronic pain. LEVI-04 inhibits NT-3, one of the neurotrophin family of proteins. LEVI-04 has completed a Phase II clinical trial in more than 500 patients with osteoarthritis. It is estimated that the market opportunity for drugs that treat osteoarthritis is worth in excess of $10 billion. LEVI-04 was discovered by Levicept’s founder, Simon Westbrook. Levicept’s investors include Medicxi, Advent Life Sciences, Gilde Healthcare and Pfizer Ventures.
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