# Rick Batycky

> Rick Batycky is a chemical engineer turned biotech founder who has spent two decades coaxing medicines into the lungs. As President and CEO of Nocion Therapeutics, he is developing a new class of charged sodium channel blockers built to silence overactive sensory neurons and finally quiet refractory chronic cough. Before Nocion he co-founded Civitas Therapeutics, revived a dormant inhalation platform, and carried the dry-powder levodopa therapy Inbrija through to FDA approval as Acorda's CTO.

- **Role:** President & CEO at Nocion Therapeutics
- **Organizations:** Nocion Therapeutics, Civitas Therapeutics, Acorda Therapeutics, Pulmatrix, Alkermes, Advanced Inhalation Research (AIR), Spyryx Biosciences
- **Nationality:** Canadian
- **Education:** B.Sc., Chemical Engineering, University of Calgary, S.M., Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- **Known for:** Led the dry-powder inhaled levodopa therapy CVT-301 through to FDA approval as Inbrija for Parkinson's disease, Co-founded Civitas Therapeutics and revived the dormant ARCUS inhalation platform, growing the company past 40 employees through an IPO and acquisition, Secured Michael J. Fox Foundation funding and positive results across three clinical trials at Civitas

## Career timeline

- **1990s** — First employee hired at Advanced Inhalation Research (AIR), founded by MIT's Robert Langer and David Edwards to commercialize the ARCUS dry-powder platform
- **1999** — AIR acquired by Alkermes; Batycky continues inhaled drug delivery work
- **2009** — Co-founds Civitas Therapeutics as an Alkermes spinout to revive the ARCUS platform; serves as Chief Scientific Officer
- **2014** — Civitas acquired by Acorda Therapeutics along with CVT-301 (levodopa DPI) and the ARCUS platform
- **2014** — Becomes Chief Technology Officer at Acorda Therapeutics
- **2017** — Leads CVT-301 (Inbrija) to positive Phase 3 results
- **2018** — Departs Acorda; becomes President & CEO of Nocion Therapeutics in August
- **2018** — Inbrija (inhaled levodopa) approved by the FDA for Parkinson's OFF episodes
- **2019** — Appointed to Pulmatrix Board of Directors

## Achievements

- Led the dry-powder inhaled levodopa therapy CVT-301 through to FDA approval as Inbrija for Parkinson's disease
- Co-founded Civitas Therapeutics and revived the dormant ARCUS inhalation platform, growing the company past 40 employees through an IPO and acquisition
- Secured Michael J. Fox Foundation funding and positive results across three clinical trials at Civitas
- Named inventor on multiple patents assigned to Advanced Inhalation Research for low-density inhalable particles
- Recognized as a PM360 ELITE drug researcher and developer (2017)
- Founder and CEO of Nocion Therapeutics, which has raised approximately $196M total including a $62M Series B

## Latest updates

- **2026-01** — Nocion's most recent funding round (Series B) recorded; total funding reported around $196M
- **2026-04** — Nocion appoints Mark Iwicki to its Board of Directors
- **2026-05** — Nocion appoints Vineet Agarwal as Chief Business Officer
- **2026-Q3** — Nocion's ASPIRE Phase 2b study of taplucainium for chronic cough fully enrolled; topline results expected

## Links

- Website: https://nociontx.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-batycky-221a7011/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/nociontx

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/rick-batycky
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-03