Novira Names Christian S. Schade Chief Executive Officer

DOYLESTOWN, Pa., March 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Novira Therapeutics, Inc., today announced that Christian S. Schade has been named Chief Executive Officer, effective March 19.

Mr. Schade has more than 30 years of extensive private and public pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry experience as well as broad capital markets experience from his tenure in the investment banking industry. Prior to joining Novira he was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Omthera Pharmaceuticals where he played a lead role in taking the company public and in the sale of the company to AstraZeneca Plc., which closed in July 2013.

"We welcome Chris as Chief Executive Officer of Novira," said Scott Rocklage, Ph.D., Chairman of Novira's Board of Directors. "Chris has significant expertise as a financial executive in the biopharmaceutical industry and has played integral roles in the successful sale of two emerging biotech companies. His experience, deep knowledge of the global pharmaceutical industry, leadership and drive for success will be extremely valuable to Novira as we continue to develop innovative drugs that we hope will lead to a cure of chronic HBV infection."

Osvaldo Flores, Ph.D., co-founder, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Novira added, "Chris brings operational and business development skills that will significantly strengthen our management team. His experience will become increasingly important as Novira continues to grow and advance its pipeline of promising HBV drug candidates into clinical development. We look forward to working with Chris toward our goal of developing curative therapies for patients with chronic Hepatitis B."

Prior to joining Omthera, Mr. Schade was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at NRG Energy. From 2000 to 2009 he was Senior Vice President of Administration and Chief Financial Officer at Medarex, a biopharmaceutical company focused on antibody-based therapeutic products for oncology, inflammation, autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases. Mr. Schade played a pivotal role in the acquisition of Medarex by Bristol Myers Squibb, leading the negotiations for the sale and merger-integration process of the research, development and administrative functions during this process.

Mr. Schade added, "I am impressed by the expertise and commitment of Novira's world class virology team and the strength of its research pipeline. I look forward to working with Novira's management team, its investors and Board of Directors to advance the company's pipeline into clinical development. The goal is to advance the team's novel product candidates rapidly to meet the large unmet need of chronic HBV infection."

Before joining Medarex, Mr. Schade served as Managing Director at Merrill Lynch in London, where he was head of the European Corporate Funding Group and was responsible for certain capital markets activities for Merrill Lynch's European corporate clients. Additionally, he held various corporate finance and capital markets positions in New York and London for both Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan Chase & Co. Mr. Schade received an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Princeton University. Mr. Schade currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart, and also serves on the Board of Directors at Integra Life Sciences.

About Novira Therapeutics

Novira Therapeutics is focused on the discovery of first-in-class antiviral therapeutics for the treatment of chronic HBV infection, a global disease with a high level of unmet medical need. Novira's oral drugs target the core protein of the virus and offer a promising treatment option both as monotherapy and in combination with current standards of care. The company's antivirals potentially address limitations in treating chronic HBV infection, a disease for which the only class of oral drugs available, polymerase inhibitors, is rarely curative despite lifelong treatment.

For more information, visit www.noviratherapeutics.com.

Contacts:

Corporate Contact 
Osvaldo Flores, Ph.D. 
President, CSO 
[email protected]

Media Contacts 
David Schull                                      
Matt Middleman, M.D.                                  
Russo Partners                                             
T: 212-845-4271                                
T: (212) 845-4272 
[email protected] 
[email protected] 

SOURCE Novira Therapeutics, Inc.