Mark S. Levine Joins Minerva Neurosciences as VP and General Counsel

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Minerva Neurosciences (NERV), a leader in the development of new therapies to treat neuropsychiatric diseases and disorders, today announced that Mark S. Levine has been appointed vice president and general counsel. In this position, Mr. Levine will be responsible for the company's legal affairs and will report to Rogerio Vivaldi, MD, MBA, Minerva Neurosciences' president and chief executive officer. 

Mr. Levine has more than 17 years of experience as a corporate and commercial attorney. His expertise includes contractual matters, mergers & acquisitions, litigation management, and corporate governance and regulatory compliance. He has served in a number of senior legal positions including as assistant general counsel of athenahealth, Inc., a cloud-based service provider to medical practices and health systems. He was also formerly associate general counsel of Clinical Data, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, senior legal counsel of Wheelabrator Technologies, Inc., a renewable energy generating company, and associate general counsel of Xpedior Incorporated, an Internet consulting company. Mr. Levine holds a bachelor of arts degree from Binghamton University, SUNY, and a juris doctor from Washington University in St. Louis.

"As we work to advance our pipeline of novel therapies for the treatment of neuropsychiatric diseases, we are expanding the Minerva team to bring the full range of business and drug development and commercialization expertise we need to continue to build momentum. Mark Levine brings Minerva a wealth of targeted legal experience to support our business development initiatives on all fronts, and he will play a pivotal role in planning and executing our business strategy in the years ahead," said Mr. Vivaldi.

About Minerva
Minerva Neurosciences, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of a portfolio of product candidates to treat neuropsychiatric diseases. The company was incorporated under the name Cyrenaic Pharmaceuticals, Inc. on April 23, 2007. In November 2013, it merged with Sonkei Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and the combined company was renamed Minerva Neurosciences, Inc. 

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 management's ability to successfully achieve its goals. These forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual results due to a variety of factors including, without limitation, management's ability to successfully achieve its goals. 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 which are available on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. In addition, please note that any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to update these statements as a result of new information or future events.

Media contact:
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Investor contact:
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Stern Investor Relations
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SOURCE Minerva Neurosciences, Inc.