Pharnext announces the nomination of Michel de Rosen, a Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Industry Leader, to its Board of Directors

PARIS, Dec. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Pharnext SAS, today announced the nomination of Michel de Rosen to its board of directors.  The wealth of expertise Michel de Rosen has cultivated during his time as an executive in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries will be an asset to Pharnext moving forward.

For nearly 25 years, Michel de Rosen held various executive positions at Rhone-Poulenc, in particular in its pharmaceutical subsidiary Rhone-Poulenc Rorer, now known as Sanofi, and then at ViroPharma.

Michel de Rosen is a graduate of the business school HEC-Paris and the "Ecole Nationale d'Administration" (ENA). He began his career at the "Inspection Generale des Finances" of the French Ministry of Economy and Finance, before rising to the position of director in the cabinet of Alain Madelin, Minister of Industry and Telecommunications from 1986 to 1988.

While at Rhone-Poulenc, from 1983 to 1999, Michel de Rosen successively served as president and chief executive officer of Pharmuka, Rhone-Poulenc Fibers and Polymers, and then Rhone-Poulenc Rorer in the United States. From 2000 to 2008, as chief executive officer of ViroPharma, he successfully transformed the company, recently purchased by Shire.  After 15 years in the United States, Michel de Rosen returned to France.

Since 2009, Michel de Rosen has been chief executive officer of Eutelsat Communications, the largest operator of satellites in Europe and one of the largest in the world. He is also a member of boards of directors for Eutelsat Communications, for Hispasat (satellites operator in Spain) and for ABB, a world leader in power and automation technologies.

Daniel  Cohen,  M.D.,  Ph.D.,  chairman  and  chief  executive  officer  of  Pharnext,  said,  "Michel de Rosen's nomination to our board of directors falls within our wish to accelerate Pharnext's development both in France and abroad. His achievements at Rhone-Poulenc Rorer and ViroPharma are very impressive. His international expertise will prove valuable to us in our development dynamics."

Michel de Rosen, chairman and chief executive officer of Eutelsat Communications, added, "I am honored and excited to join the Pharnext board of directors. This company is inventive, very promising and carries great hopes in the healthcare area. Under Daniel Cohen's leadership, it has the potential for tremendous success."

About Pharnext

Pharnext is an advanced clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing new therapeutics that simultaneously target multiple key disease pathways for severe orphan and common neurological diseases. The proprietary research and development platform of Pharnext is based on network pharmacology. It allows the development of synergic combinations of repositioned drugs: pleodrugs. The company's two lead pleodrugs are PXT-3003 for the treatment of Charcot Marie Tooth type 1A (Phase 2 clinical trial completed) and PXT-864 for Alzheimer's disease (Phase 2 clinical trial ongoing) and other neurological indications (Parkinson's disease, ALS).

Pharnext Contact
Catherine Chalandon
VP Finance and Strategy
[email protected]

Media Contacts
Tony Russo, Ph.D.
Matt Middleman, M.D.
Russo Partners
T: 212-845-4251
T: 212-845-4272
[email protected]
[email protected]

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pharnext-announces-the-nomination-of-michel-de-rosen-a-pharmaceutical-and-biotechnology-industry-leader-to-its-board-of-directors-300006270.html

SOURCE Pharnext SAS