New Members Include Experienced Company Builders and Life Science Leaders
BOSTON – December 20, 2018 – Cerevel Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing drug candidates to treat disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) founded by Bain Capital and Pfizer earlier this year, today announced the appointment of three global leaders from the life science industry to its Board of Directors. New Board members Tony Coles, M.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Yumanity Therapeutics; Marijn Dekkers, Ph.D., Founder and Chairman of Novalis LifeSciences LLC; and Norbert Riedel, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Aptinyx, join the existing Board members from Bain Capital and Pfizer.
“Cerevel seeks to expand treatment options in a therapeutic area where there is an urgent unmet need for patients, and we are delighted to have the support and guidance of these exceptional leaders as we move forward,” said Adam Koppel, Managing Director of Bain Capital and member of the Board. “We are building a dedicated team with extensive experience in the clinical development of potential therapies for patients who have neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases. With our most advanced program expected to enter Phase III in 2019 to treat the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, and a Phase II-ready selective GABA 2/3 agonist which will initially be studied for epilepsy, Cerevel will benefit from the deep development and operational experience of these accomplished Board members.”
Extensive Expertise Spanning Diverse Business Functions in the Life Science Industry
Two senior Pfizer executives, Morris Birnbaum, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of Internal Medicine, and Doug Giordano, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Business Development, along with Dr. Koppel and Chris Gordon, Managing Directors of Bain Capital, currently serve on the Cerevel Board of Directors. Cerevel’s new Board members bring extensive expertise from a range of business functions spanning the life science industry.
- Tony Coles, M.D., will serve as Executive Chairman of Cerevel’s board. Dr. Coles is a founding investor and the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Yumanity Therapeutics, a company focused on discovering transformative therapies to treat neurodegenerative diseases. Prior to Yumanity, he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which was acquired by Amgen in late 2013. Dr. Coles brings a wealth of experience in company building, drug development and commercial operations.
- Marijn Dekkers, Ph.D., is the Founder and Chairman of Novalis LifeSciences LLC, an investment and advisory firm for the life science industry, as well as Chairman of Unilever. He was previously the Chief Executive Officer of Bayer AG.
- Norbert Riedel, Ph.D., serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Aptinyx, a biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing transformative therapies for challenging disorders of the brain and nervous system. He has more than 25 years of experience in the life science industry.
“I am thrilled to serve as Executive Chairman and collaborate with this talented team of experts following the recent launch of Cerevel,” said Dr. Coles. “With three clinical-stage programs and several pre-clinical compounds designed to target a broad range of CNS disorders including the symptoms associated with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, schizophrenia and addiction, Cerevel shows distinct promise in its mission to bring novel advances in the treatment of CNS disorders to patients.”
About Cerevel Therapeutics
Cerevel (www.cerevel.com) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing drug candidates to treat disorders of the central nervous system (CNS). The company has a portfolio of pre-commercial neuroscience assets, which include three clinical-stage compounds and several pre-clinical compounds designed to target a broad range of CNS disorders including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, schizophrenia and addiction. Headquartered in the Greater Boston area, Cerevel was formed in 2018 through a partnership between Bain Capital and Pfizer.
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Benjamin Navon
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