Poxel Appoints Janice Bourque and Pierre Legault to its Board of Directors

Poxel SA (Euronext – POXEL - FR0012432516), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative drugs to treat type 2 diabetes, today announced the addition of Janice Bourque, Managing Director of Hercules Technology Growth Capital, and Pierre Legault, President and CEO of Nephrogenex Inc, to its Board of Directors. Both appointments were approved by Poxel’s shareholders at the Annual Shareholder Meeting held in Paris last Friday, January 29, 2016.

"We welcome both Janice and Pierre as North American biotechnology industry leaders who will help us expand our strategic vision for Poxel’s corporate development,” said Thomas Kuhn, CEO of Poxel. "Poxel benefits from an outstanding network of scientific, financial and pharmaceutical experts across the EU, Japan and US who support us in moving our type 2 diabetes product candidates towards commercialization.”

Janice Bourque has been Managing Director, Life Sciences at Hercules Technology Growth Capital, a technology and life science specialty finance company, since 2010. During this time she helped early and expansion stage biotechnology companies to secure financings with investments ranging from $10 million to $60 million per company. Prior to this, she was a consultant at Commons Capital where she advised and provided strategic corporate investor fundraising. From 2005 to 2009 she was the Senior Vice President and Group Head-Life Sciences at Comerica Bank in Dallas, Texas. Janice was also President and CEO of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, the oldest biotechnology trade association in the world, where she was instrumental in its growth since 1992. She currently serves as Board member and Audit Committee Chair at The Village Bank and is an Emeritus member of the Leadership Council for MIT Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. Janice graduated from the University of New Hampshire with an MBA in Finance and Accounting.

Pierre Legault joins Poxel with over 35 years of experience working in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. Since 2012, he has been the Executive Chairman and later became President and CEO of NephroGenex, a North Carolina-based biotechnology company focused on diabetic nephropathy and acute kidney injury. He was responsible for the company’s successful IPO to the Nasdaq in 2014 as well as the initiation of a Phase 3 development program. From 2010 to 2012, he was President and CEO of Prosidion Ltd, which specialized in the treatment of diabetes and obesity. In 2009/2010, he was Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of OSI Pharmaceuticals. From 2006 to 2007, Pierre was President of Eckerd Pharmacies. Between 1989 and 2005 he held various roles at legacy companies of Sanofi-Aventis, leading up to the position as Worldwide President Dermatology/Dermick which he held from 2003 to 2005. Pierre studied International Finance, Business & Commerce and earned an MBA in Marketing from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Additionally, he completed the Executive Masters Program for InfoTechnology & Services at Havard Business School and he is a CPA.

About Poxel
Poxel uses its unique development expertise in metabolism to advance a pipeline of truly novel products currently focused on type 2 diabetes. Our first-in-class lead product, Imeglimin, targeting mitochondrial dysfunction, has successfully completed Phase 2 development in the US and EU and has started Phase 2b development in Japanese patients. We are advancing our second program, PXL770, a direct AMPK activator, through clinical proof-of-concept. We will generate further growth through strategic partnerships and pipeline development. (Euronext: POXEL, www.poxel.com)

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160131005005/en/