Noema Pharma appoints Jeffrey Jonas as Independent Chairman of the Board of Directors

BASEL, Switzerland, Oct. 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Noema Pharma AG, a Swiss-based clinical stage company targeting orphan central nervous system (CNS) diseases, today announces the appointment of Jeffrey Jonas MD as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Dr. Jonas is a neuropsychiatry expert, former Chief Executive Officer and current Chief Innovation Officer of Sage Therapeutics, with more than 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. Following his election by the shareholders, he will take the reins from Darren Carroll, a partner with Polaris Partners, who will remain a member of the Board of Directors.

“I am delighted that Jeff accepted to join Noema as Chairman of the Board and am looking forward to us working together. Jeff shares our passion of bringing valuable therapeutic solutions to patients affected by debilitating CNS conditions. Noema will benefit greatly from Jeff’s rich experience in the field of neuropsychiatric conditions and his leadership in the biotech industry,” said Luigi Costa, Chief Executive Officer of Noema Pharma. “I would also like to thank Darren Carroll for his tenure as Chairman. Darren was instrumental in securing the Series A round. Through this investment, we successfully initiated the first Noema clinical trial and established the foundation for several more planned clinical programs. I look forward to continuing our active collaboration with Darren through his position on our Board, alongside Antoine Papiernik of Sofinnova Partners and Arthur Franken from Gilde Healthcare.”

“I am very excited to be joining the Noema team with its first clinical trial underway and with more imminent starts,” said Jeffrey Jonas, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Noema Pharma. “Noema is uniquely poised to develop several state-of-the-art clinical assets with the potential to offer new therapies for patients with severe disabilities. I look forward to working with Luigi and the Noema team as we seek to bring the company’s transformative pipeline with potentially life-changing therapeutics to patients and health care providers.”

Founded in 2019, following a seed investment from Sofinnova Partners, Noema Pharma concluded an over-subscribed Series A CHF 54M ($ 60M) financing round in December 2020, co-led by Sofinnova Partners and Polaris Partners alongside Gilde Healthcare, Invus and BiomedInvest. In August 2021, it initiated its first clinical trial, a Phase 2a dose ranging study of the PDE10A inhibitor NOE-105 in Tourette Syndrome.

“Last year’s successful Series A financing secured the funding necessary for the company to develop its product candidates in orphan neurological conditions with severe unmet medical need”, said Darren Carroll, Board Member of Noema Pharma. “With an expanding portfolio, now is the perfect time to bring in a world-renowned expert in neuropsychiatry to lead the Board of Directors. Jeff’s expertise and innovative thinking will further facilitate Noema expansion of its clinical-stage pipeline.”

About Jeffrey Jonas
Jeffrey Jonas served as Chief Executive Officer of Sage Therapeutics from 2013 to 2020, where he engineered one of the industry’s leading product pipelines in brain health. Currently he is Sage’s Chief Innovation Officer, a member of Sage’s Board and chair of the Science and Technology Forum of Sage’s Board. Prior to Sage, Dr. Jonas spent five years with Shire Pharmaceuticals as President of the Regenerative Medicine Division and previously as Senior Vice President of Research and Development. Among his various achievements, Dr. Jonas expanded Shire’s lead therapy beyond its initial indication. Before joining Shire, Dr. Jonas served as Executive Vice President of ISIS Pharmaceuticals and held senior positions at Forest Laboratories and Upjohn Laboratories. He received an undergraduate degree from Amherst College and a medical degree from Harvard Medical School.

About Noema Pharma
Noema Pharma (www.noemapharma.com) is a Swiss-based company targeting orphan neurological disorders characterized by imbalanced neuronal networks. The company is developing four mid-clinical-stage therapeutic products in-licensed from Roche and with strong safety packages. Lead product NOE-101, an mGluR5 inhibitor, is Phase 2b-ready for two indications: persistent seizures in Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) and severe pain in Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN). NOE-105, a PDE10A inhibitor, is in preparation for Phase 2b testing to treat Tourette Syndrome. The Company is undertaking validation studies in undisclosed indications for two additional clinical-stage assets, NOE-109, an mGluR2/3 inhibitor, and NOE-115, a triple re-uptake inhibitor. Noema Pharma was founded with the leading venture capital firm Sofinnova Partners. Investors include Polaris Partners, Gilde Healthcare, Invus and Biomed Partners.

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