VCU alum offers new hope for treating Tourette syndrome

By Julie Miles

When Richard E. Chipkin, Ph.D., returned to the MCV Campus after nearly five decades to speak with students and faculty, it was more than a homecoming. It was a celebration of how the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at Virginia Commonwealth University helped launch a remarkable career - one that has bridged pioneering science and global pharmaceutical leadership in a relentless quest to turn discovery into meaningful impact.

Chipkin was among the first students in the department's newly launched pharmacology and toxicology doctoral program in the School of Medicine, energized by the vision of then-department chair Louis Harris, Ph.D., who was building a hub of innovative brain research.

"It was a great time to be in the department," said Chipkin, who earned his Ph.D. in 1976. "There was a real commitment to fostering innovation and providing a foundation for translational research."

Guided by William Dewey, Ph.D. - who today is one of the School of Medicine's longest-serving chairs and the Louis and Ruth Harris Professor in Pharmacology and Toxicology - Chipkin thrived in a department he described as "groundbreaking," where early research into cannabinoids and opiates was just beginning to make national waves.

Dewey recognized Chipkin's potential. "Dr. Chipkin's high intelligence, hard work and dedication to all aspects of his graduate work are characteristics that he has carried throughout his career," he said. "Those standards have been the basis for his success in all aspects of his career - and represent the values we work to instill in our students to this day."

Dewey connected Chipkin to a postdoctoral opportunity at the University of Colorado, and later with a fellow Ph.D. alumnus who offered him a job at pharmaceutical powerhouse Schering-Plough (now part of Merck & Co.), where the core of his life's work began to take shape.

At Schering-Plough, Chipkin helped develop ecopipam, the first drug to selectively block the D1 dopamine receptor. Initially tested for schizophrenia, addiction and obesity, it showed promise but didn't pass clinical trials due to limited efficacy and safety concerns. The company shelved it.

But Chipkin saw untapped potential. In 2009, after securing $5 million - that eventually grew to $15 million in venture capital - his startup Psyadon bought ecopipam's rights. He shifted focus from psychiatric to neurological uses, zeroing in on Tourette syndrome - a disorder marked by vocal and motor tics linked to dopamine irregularities.

The results were remarkable. Chipkin's team showed ecopipam significantly eased Tourette's symptoms with fewer side effects than traditional treatments.

"Ecopipam is the first drug for Tourette disease I've seen that reduces tic-like symptoms every time it has been clinically tested," Chipkin said.

In 2018, Chipkin sold Psyadon and the drug's rights to Emalex Biosciences but stayed on as an adviser, through successful Phase 2 and 3 trials. Ecopipam now heads toward FDA approval.

Chipkin credited his time at Schering-Plough with honing the business acumen necessary to usher a new drug through critical processes such as licensing, regulatory strategy and commercialization. Those skills, paired with the drive for innovation he absorbed on the MCV Campus, became the foundation for his success with ecopipam.

Today, Chipkin is an entrepreneur-in-residence at the University of Maryland Baltimore County's incubator, bwtech@UMBC. He mentors entrepreneurs with small start-up companies on how to navigate the path from concept to the marketplace.

Whether at bwtech@UMBC or speaking to students at his alma mater, Chipkin offers the kind of advice only hard-earned experience can deliver.

"Don't despair," he told students during his visit. "A Ph.D. in pharmacology doesn't mean you're locked into grant writing for life."

With biotech, government and industry roles now more abundant than ever, he urged emerging scientists to think beyond the academic track. Smaller companies offer a broad range of critical experiences, including writing patents, shaping strategy and developing marketing. But success, he reminded them, takes patience and a little bit of daring.

"Listen to those who've been through it. Be open. And resist the urge for quick results."

Coming from a scientist who spent 25 years bringing a once-abandoned drug back to life, the message rings clear: The path may be long, but it's wide with possibility.

This story was originally published on the School of Medicine's website.