Brii Biosciences Appoints Eleanor de Groot as Chief Technology Officer and Aleksandar Skuban as Central Nervous System Diseases Therapy Area Head

Building a leadership team with global and local experience and expertise to enable rapid execution across Company's broad therapeutic strategy

DURHAM, N.C. and BEIJING, Aug. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Brii Biosciences Limited ("Brii Bio" or the "Company", stock code: 2137.HK), a multi-national company developing innovative therapies for diseases with significant unmet medical needs and large public health burdens, today announced the appointments of Eleanor (Ellee) de Groot, Ph.D., as Chief Technology Officer and Aleksandar Skuban, M.D., as Central Nervous System (CNS) Diseases Therapy Area Head.

"Ellee and Aleksandar are both seasoned biotech leaders with impressive credentials and an entrepreneurial history of leading medicine development and manufacturing initiatives within their functional areas. We are excited to welcome them to the Brii Bio team as we continue to advance our pipeline of innovative drug candidates on behalf of patients facing significant health burdens around the world," said Zhi Hong, Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Brii Bio. "With experience spanning all phases in the making of medicines, Ellee is an important addition to our executive team as we execute against our broad therapeutic modalities. Likewise, Aleksandar's deep expertise in CNS and mental health clinical development and patient care will be essential as we prioritize the advancement of our lead U.S. therapeutic programs in postpartum depression and major depressive and anxiety disorders."

Eleanor (Ellee) de Groot, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer

Dr. de Groot has more than two decades of experience leading a wide range of streamlined global operations across growing biotechnology companies, from early to late stage clinical development and commercial-scale manufacturing. Dr. de Groot held key leadership roles during her career with Alaunos Therapeutics, most recently serving as Executive Vice President of Operations where she oversaw the development of novel cell therapy programs and led clinical manufacturing, quality and process development. In addition, during her extended tenure at Helsinn Therapeutics, Dr. de Groot held multiple roles of increasing responsibility within CMC management where she directed preparations for drug product commercialization, including global regulatory engagement, technology transfers and collaborations with key business partners worldwide. Dr. de Groot holds both a Ph.D. and Master of Science degree in chemical engineering from Stanford University, a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Master of Business Administration from Rice University.

"I believe Brii Bio's diversified pipeline of promising therapeutic candidates shows great potential to address some of the biggest public health challenges of our time, and I'm eager to contribute my expertise to support ongoing product development and generate a sustainable long-term growth strategy within the Company," said Ellee de Groot, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer of Brii Bio.

Aleksandar Skuban, M.D., CNS Diseases Therapy Area Head

Dr. Skuban brings to Brii Bio more than 25 years of global pharmaceutical R&D experience with an extensive medical, scientific and business leadership track record of achievements, including leading more than 30 studies across therapeutic areas from early stage proof of concept through positive regulatory outcomes, with a focus in CNS diseases. Previously, Dr. Skuban served as SVP of Clinical Development at Better Therapeutics, where he shaped research strategy to enable rapid development of new indications for prescription digital therapeutics. Prior to that, he served as an Executive Medical Director leading clinical development within Alexion's emerging ophthalmology therapeutic area. At Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Skuban's tenure included roles overseeing various clinical portfolios, notably guiding to FDA approval for Brexpiprazole (REXULTI) for major depressive disorder and schizophrenia. Dr. Skuban also held a number of clinical development director roles at Merck and Sanofi-Aventis. He earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from Semmelweis University of Medicine, Budapest, Hungary and attended the School of Medicine at the University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Yugoslavia (Serbia).

"I am inspired by the meaningful patient-centric approach that Brii Bio has cultivated in the earliest stages of clinical planning. I look forward to incorporating unique patient insights into Brii's CNS programs to ensure our investigational treatments are well-positioned for the future of mental healthcare and grounded in the fundamental understanding of patients' preferences and needs," said Aleksandar Skuban, M.D., CNS Diseases Therapy Area Head of Brii Bio.

About Brii Bio

Brii Biosciences Limited ("Brii Bio", stock code: 2137.HK) is a biotechnology company based in China and the United States committed to advancing therapies for significant infectious diseases, such as hepatitis B, COVID-19, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, multi-drug resistant (MDR) or extensive drug resistant (XDR) gram-negative infections, and other illnesses, such as the central nervous system (CNS) diseases, which have significant public health burdens in China and worldwide. For more information, visit www.briibio.com.

SOURCE Brii Biosciences Limited