Prostate Cancer Treatment Platform

Alan Kozikowski, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized medicinal chemist with over four decades of pioneering contributions to drug discovery for cancer and central nervous system disorders. He trained at the University of Michigan, UC Berkeley, and Harvard, and held professorships at leading institutions including the University of Pittsburgh, Mayo Clinic, Georgetown University Medical Center, and the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he directed the Drug Discovery Program.

With more than 550 peer-reviewed publications and 100+ patents, Dr. Kozikowski’s work has shaped the landscape of experimental therapeutics. His groundbreaking discovery of the urea-based PSMA ligand laid the foundation for theranostic agents—molecules that combine diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities—and helped catalyze the field of prostate cancer-targeting radiopharmaceuticals.

Beyond academia, Dr. Kozikowski is a successful serial entrepreneur, having co-founded Actuate Therapeutics, advancing a pancreatic cancer drug through Phase 2 clinical trials and Bright Minds Biosciences, developing a 5-HT2C-targeted therapy for epilepsy. He is also the inventor of Tubastatin A, a widely used HDAC6-selective inhibitor featured in over 100 published studies.

Dr. Kozikowski’s career reflects a rare blend of scientific rigor, translational impact, and entrepreneurial vision—driving innovation from molecular design to clinical development.