Minerva Neurosciences Names Dr. Justine Lalonde as Senior Vice President, Product Strategy

WALTHAM, Mass., Oct. 31, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Minerva Neurosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NERV), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapies to treat central nervous system (CNS) disorders, today announced the appointment of Dr. Justine Lalonde, M.D., M.B.A., as Senior Vice President, Product Strategy.  Dr. Lalonde's primary responsibility will be to optimize the portfolio strategy of Minerva based on a multidisciplinary approach that encompasses medical affairs, business development and market research.

Dr. Lalonde was previously Medical Director, Neurosciences for Roche France in Paris and served as senior International Medical Leader in global medical affairs at Roche in Basel, Switzerland, where she developed and directed pre-launch medical activities in the area of schizophrenia, especially negative symptoms. As part of the organization's cross-functional leadership team, her activities focused on product launch and positioning, clinical development plans, regulatory strategy, pricing, lifecycle management, brand development, labelling, personalized healthcare and scientific communication.  Prior to joining Roche's Global Product Strategy and Medical Affairs group, she was responsible for sourcing, due diligence and executing global R&D licensing agreements in neuroscience with Roche Pharma Partnering.  Dr. Lalonde formerly was at AstraZeneca Switzerland as marketing brand manager for Symbicort and sales manager for Seroquel.  Earlier, she was at Novartis Pharma, where she was involved in portfolio management.

Dr. Lalonde holds a doctor of medicine with honors from the University of Toronto and a masters of business administration from Harvard Business School.  She completed her specialty training at Harvard Medical School's Mass General Hospital and at the McLean Hospital residency program in adult psychiatry, as well as a fellowship in child psychiatry at Harvard-affiliated Cambridge Hospital.  At McLean Hospital, Dr. Lalonde was associate director, child and adolescent research, had a private practice focused on mood disorders and was a member of the McLean Hospital institutional review board.  She was an investigator in 18 industry and NIH-sponsored clinical trials, has authored 15 peer-review papers and over 20 posters and has presented research findings at international conferences.

"Dr. Lalonde brings broad and deep experience in the development, marketing and commercialization of innovative CNS products," said Dr. Remy Luthringer, president and chief executive officer of Minerva.  "We are excited to have her join the Minerva senior management team and look forward to her multidisciplinary contributions as our product candidates, led by MIN-101 for schizophrenia, proceed through later-stage clinical development."  

About Minerva Neurosciences

Minerva Neurosciences, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of a portfolio of products to treat CNS diseases.  Minerva's proprietary compounds include: MIN-101, in clinical development for schizophrenia; Seltorexant (MIN-202 or JNJ-42847922), in clinical development for insomnia and major depressive disorder (MDD); MIN-117, in clinical development for MDD; and MIN-301, in pre-clinical development for Parkinson's disease.  Minerva's common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol "NERV."  For more information, please visit www.minervaneurosciences.com.

Forward-Looking Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended.  Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts, reflect management's expectations as of the date of this press release, and involve certain risks and uncertainties.  Forward-looking statements include statements herein with respect to the timing and scope of future clinical trials and results of clinical trials with MIN-101, Seltorexant, MIN-117 and MIN-301.  These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and may differ materially from actual results due to a variety of factors including, without limitation, whether MIN-101, Seltorexant, MIN-117 and MIN-301 will advance further in the clinical trials process; management's ability to successfully achieve its goals; our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations on terms acceptable to us; and general economic conditions.  These and other potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the results predicted are more fully detailed under the caption "Risk Factors" in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2017, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 3, 2017.  Copies of reports filed with the SEC are posted on our website at www.minervaneurosciences.com. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to us as of the date hereof, and we disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Contact:
William B. Boni
VP, Investor Relations/
Corp. Communications
Minerva Neurosciences, Inc.
(617) 600-7376