Prothena Announces Appointment of Billy Dunn, M.D., to its Board of Directors

Prothena, a late-stage clinical biotechnology company with a robust pipeline of investigational therapeutics built on protein dysregulation expertise, announced today the appointment of Billy Dunn, to its Board of Directors. Dr. Dunn is the founding and former Director of the Office of Neuroscience, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“For nearly two decades, Dr. Dunn has dedicated his career as a public servant to bringing new and innovative products to patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases through his leadership role at the FDA. His wealth of experience in regulatory and clinical development, combined with his passion for helping patients, will greatly benefit the millions that are affected by diseases caused by protein dysregulation as the company continues to advance its robust pipeline,” commented Lars G. Ekman, M.D., Ph.D., Chair of Prothena’s Board of Directors. “We look forward to working closely with Dr. Dunn with a shared vision to make meaningful differences for patients.”

“I am excited to join at this transformational time for Prothena. The company’s expertise in pioneering therapies targeting protein dysregulation is clearly reflected in its diverse and promising pipeline guided by a commitment to patient-focused drug development, a patient-first approach that I strongly support,” said Dr. Dunn. “I look forward to working with my fellow board members and the entire team at Prothena to continue advancing novel and next-generation medicines for neurodegenerative and rare peripheral amyloid diseases that have the potential to positively impact millions of people around the globe. These potential medicines include an Alzheimer’s disease pipeline with next-generation anti-amyloid beta and tau-targeted antibodies, and a vaccine that could be used in prevention paradigms.”

During his tenure at FDA, Dr. Dunn had a significant impact on how drugs are developed for a range of serious neurological diseases, including many that previously had only limited treatment options. His work and leadership contributed to major therapeutic advances in neuro-immunological diseases such as multiple sclerosis and myasthenia gravis, advances in rare neurological disorders, advances in migraine treatment, advances in the range of complex seizure disorders, and advances in therapies for Alzheimer’s disease, among many other neurological disorders.

Dr. Dunn is the founding director of the Office of Neuroscience, CDER, at the FDA, a position he held since the founding of the office in 2019 through February 2023. He was responsible for the regulatory oversight of all research conducted to support neuroscience drug development, including the regulation and review of investigational new drug applications and marketing applications for drug and biologic products. From 2005 to 2019, he held positions of increasing seniority in the Division of Neurology Products, CDER, including his role as director of that division.

Dr. Dunn is a trained neurologist and vascular neurologist with experience in basic research, clinical research, and clinical care. He earned his B.A. from the University of Virginia and his M.D. from the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland.