NRG Therapeutics Appoints Gilles Ouvry Ph.D. as Vice President of Chemistry to Advance its Mitochondrial Therapeutics for Neurodegenerative Disorders

• Gilles Ouvry Ph.D, appointed to newly created position of VP of Chemistry, based in Stevenage, UK
• Joins from Evotec, UK and brings 20 years of international medicinal chemistry experience including at Galderma, AstraZeneca and SCYNEXIS
• Will be responsible for developing NRG’s pipeline of potential first-in-class brain-penetrant small molecule inhibitors of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore as treatments for Parkinson's and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

Stevenage, UK, 9 January 2023 – NRG Therapeutics, Ltd., an innovative neuroscience company targeting mitochondrial dysfunction, today announces the appointment of Gilles Ouvry Ph.D. who joins in the newly created position of VP of Chemistry, to be based in the Company’s facilities in Stevenage.

Reporting to NRG’s co-founder and CSO Dr Richard Rutter, and a member of the Company’s leadership team, Dr Ouvry will be responsible for managing internal and external resources to advance the Company’s pre-clinical pipeline of small molecule assets which inhibit the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) through a novel MOA.

Dr Ouvry brings 20 years of international medicinal chemistry experience gained at Evotec, Galderma, AstraZeneca and SCYNEXIS. He joins from Evotec, UK where he was VP, Discovery Chemistry. His experience spans from lead generation through to successful clinical candidate selection. During his career he has worked on over 20 drug discovery projects, managing internal and outsourced teams, and leading or participating in the discovery of multiple pre-clinical development candidates and four compounds that have progressed into clinical trials. He has a degree and Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France.

NRG Therapeutics’ co-founder and CEO Dr Neil Miller said, “We are expanding following our £16m series A financing and I am delighted to welcome Gilles to our team. We are progressing two chemical series of potential first-in-class brain-penetrant, small molecule mPTP inhibitors in parallel as potential treatments for neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s and ALS (also known as motor neurone disease or MND).  His experience in drug development will be invaluable as we move towards pre-clinical candidate selection and through IND-enabling studies.”

Mitochondria are the powerhouses or batteries of cells and therefore are essential for maintaining cell health. There is now a substantial body of evidence demonstrating mitochondrial failure or dysfunction is common across many degenerative diseases. Inhibition of the mPTP has been shown to protect neurones, reduce neuroinflammation, and extend survival in pre-clinical disease models.

Gilles Ouvry Ph.D., VP of Chemistry at NRG Therapeutics said, “I have been impressed by the potential of NRG’s small molecules and am excited to be working with the team to move the programs forward. The Company’s novel mitochondrial therapeutics have the potential to transform the lives of the growing number of people worldwide with Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.”

NRG operates a semi-virtual business model, with R&D teams based at the Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst (SBC), UK and at the WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research) in Melbourne, Australia, and outsourced R&D partners including Domainex, Evotec and Pharmaron.

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About NRG Therapeutics – http://www.nrgtherapeutics.com

NRG Therapeutics is a neuroscience drug discovery company building a pipeline of disease-modifying mitochondrial therapeutics to slow or halt the progression of neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neurone disease (MND).

The company’s pre-clinical pipeline of small molecule assets is based on inhibiting the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) through a novel mechanism of action. Inhibition of the mPTP has been shown to protect neurones, reduce neuroinflammation and extend survival in pre-clinical disease models.

Based at the Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst (SBC), UK, NRG Therapeutics is a private company with equity investment from Parkinson’s UK, Omega Funds and Brandon Capital. The company has also received grant funding from The Michael J. Fox Foundation, Innovate UK (Biomedical Catalyst Award), and is the industrial partner for a FightMND Drug Discovery grant awarded to WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research).

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