GENEVA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:
GeNeuro (Paris:GNRO) (Euronext Paris: CH0308403085 - GNRO), a biopharmaceutical company focused on understanding and stopping the causal factors driving the progression of neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis , today announces the appointment of the experienced medical and industry professional Prof. David Leppert, MD and Professor of Neurology, as Chief Medical Officer.
Dr. Leppert is a recognized expert in the worldwide neurology community, having developed pioneering research and worked for over 20 years in clinical development, successfully leading the development of prominent drugs such as ocrelizumab to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) while at Roche, and then leading the development of all neurology clinical trials at Novartis. Dr. Leppert is currently Associate professor in Neurology at University of Basel, and will retain his academic appointment. He will become GeNeuro’s Chief Medical Officer effective May 1, 2020.
Dr. Leppert replaces Dr. François Curtin, who is leaving GeNeuro on April 30, 2020, after more than 10 years of dedicated service, to pursue an academic appointment at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich. Dr. Curtin was a key driver of the early development of GeNeuro, taking the company from preclinical development into early clinical trials, and assembling and managing operations as Chief Operating Officer of the company.
“I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Leppert to GeNeuro’s team. He will bring us his extensive and invaluable experience in the clinical development of innovative treatments for MS and other diseases,” said Jesús Martin-Garcia, CEO of GeNeuro.
“I would also like to extend my gratitude and that of our colleagues to François Curtin for his unwavering commitment and invaluable work supporting the development of GeNeuro. We wish François all the best in his future endeavours,” concluded Jesús Martin-Garcia.
About Dr. David Leppert
Dr. David Leppert founded the Clinical Neuro-immunology Laboratory at the University Hospital Basel in 1995, and served in parallel as head of the epilepsy outpatient clinic from 1999 to 2004. He received the 2nd Hoechst-Marion-Roussel prize for MS research (1999), the Ellermann Prize of the Swiss Neurological Society (2001), and the Baasch-Medicus Award (2002) for his research on the role of matrix metalloproteinases and genomics in MS.
He began his industry career in 2004 at GlaxoSmithKline in translational medicine and later at in GE Healthcare for diagnostic drug development. Dr Leppert was then Senior Medical Consultant at Novartis and Global Project Medical Director for the Siponimod MS program, before joining Roche as Global Development Team Leader of ocrelizumab, later becoming Therapeutic Area Head Neuroinflammation. He returned to Novartis in 2015 as Therapeutic Area Head Neuroinflammation, where he was responsible for early and late stage development of MS compounds. Most recently, he was Senior Research Associate at the University of Basel, focusing on research on neurofilaments and other biomarkers of neurological diseases.
Dr Leppert has authored over 100 peer reviewed publications and holds an MD from the University of Zurich, where he also completed his specialty training in neurology. He completed research fellowships in neuroimmunology and neurophysiology at the University of California, San Francisco.
About GeNeuro
GeNeuro‘s mission is to develop safe and effective treatments against neurological disorders and autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, by neutralizing causal factors encoded by HERVs, which represent 8% of human DNA.
GeNeuro is based in Geneva, Switzerland and has R&D facilities in Lyon, France. It has 21 employees and rights to 17 patent families protecting its technology.
For more information, visit: www.geneuro.com
Disclaimer
This press release contains certain forward - looking statements and estimates concerning GeNeuro’s financial condition, operating results, strategy, projects and future performance and the markets in which it operates. Such forward-looking statements and estimates may be identified by words, such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “can,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “is designed to,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “objective,” “should,” or the negative of these and similar expressions. They incorporate all topics that are not historical facts. Forward looking statements, forecasts and estimates are based on management’s current assumptions and assessment of risks, uncertainties and other factors, known and unknown, which were deemed to be reasonable at the time they were made but which may turn out to be incorrect. Events and outcomes are difficult to predict and depend on factors beyond the company’s control. Consequently, the actual results, financial condition, performances and/or achievements of GeNeuro or of the industry may turn out to differ materially from the future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by these statements, forecasts and estimates. Owing to these uncertainties, no representation is made as to the correctness or fairness of these forward-looking statements, forecasts and estimates. Furthermore, forward-looking statements, forecasts and estimates speak only as of the date on which they are made, and GeNeuro undertakes no obligation to update or revise any of them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
