Aleva Neurotherapeutics appoints former Glycovaxyn CEO to its Board of Directors

Dro brings 20 years of entrepreneurial experience in the life science industry, including a pivotal role in executing strategic transactions at several biotech and medtech companies. Until recently, he was Chief Executive Officer and a Member of the Supervisory Board of GlycoVaxyn AG, a vaccine company that was acquired by GSK earlier this year. Prior to this, he served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Endoart S.A., a medtech company that was sold to Allergan, Inc. From 1999 to 2003, he was Chief Financial Officer and Head of Business Development at drug discovery company Axovan AG, which was acquired by Actelion in November 2003.

“We are delighted about the appointment of Philippe Dro to Aleva´s board of directors," said Chairman Oern Stuge. "The company has reached major milestones over the past months and has entered a crucial phase in advancing and commercializing its novel, directional DBS lead for patients suffering from Parkinson´s disease and essential tremor. We are sure that Philippe´s experience will be of great benefit in further maturing Aleva´s portfolio.”

"It´s a pleasure to join forces with such an impressive company and an excellent team," added Philippe Dro. "I am determined to support Aleva in further accelerating its commercial and business development activities so that its groundbreaking Deep Brain Stimulation products will reach the market for the benefit of patients with these severe conditions."

EUR 14.5 from renowned investors
Aleva Neurotherapeutics is a spin-off from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) Microsystems Laboratory of Prof. Philippe Renaud. Aleva Neurotherapeutics has raised EUR 14.5 million from renowned private and institutional investors, among them BioMedInvest AG, BB Biotech Ventures LP, Banexi Ventures Partners, Initiative Capital Romandie and selected private investors.

The company develops next-generation neurostimulation technologies and devices for Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) therapy. Its solutions are designed to be more precise and more efficient than currently available DBS approaches while causing fewer side effects. Based on its proprietary microDBS technology, Aleva has developed two novel brain stimulating products with different properties. The first, called directSTIM, is a complete Directional Deep Brain Stimulation System for long-term therapy in Parkinson’s Disease and Essential Tremor; the second, called spiderSTIM, is a full solution for intra-surgical placement of DBS electrodes.  

Picture: Ben Huggler

(Press Release)