Belgium – Syndesi Therapeutics SA, a newly formed biotech company developing novel treatments for cognitive impairment, today announced the appointment of Dr Jean Combalbert as Independent Director and Chairman of the Board.
Dr Combalbert is a successful entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical and biotech companies. He was CEO of Ogeda (formerly Euroscreen) from 2006 until its sale to Astellas Pharma Inc. in May 2017. Prior to joining Ogeda, he was VP Pharmaceutical Development at Proteus SA, Nimes, France, then Chairman & CEO of Entomed SA, Strasbourg, France. Earlier in his career, Dr Combalbert held senior positions with Sanofi in France and Galderma in France and the United States. Dr Combalbert received his PharmD and a PhD from the Université de Pharmacie, Marseille, France.
“I am impressed by the unique partnership between UCB and a syndicate of leading investors both here in Belgium and internationally that has created Syndesi to progress an intriguing new therapeutic approach for the treatment of dementia and other cognitive disorders. I am excited to work with the Board and management to support the Company in its mission to demonstrate the potential of novel modulators of SV2A for the treatment of cognitive impairment,” commented Jean Combalbert.
“It is a great pleasure to welcome Jean onto Syndesi’s Board,” said Jonathan Savidge, CEO of Syndesi. “The company is very fortunate to have attached a chairman with Jean’s experience and impressive track record in the biotech sector. I look forward to working with him, the Board and my management colleagues to evolve the Company and achieve our objectives in the clinical development of our pro-cognitive SV2A modulators.”
About Syndesi Therapeutics
Syndesi Therapeutics was established in 2017 based on an exclusive, worldwide license from UCB to develop and commercialise a series of novel, pro-cognitive small molecule SV2A modulators. Syndesi was created to further develop these novel SV2A modulators and investigate their potential to improve cognition in diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease, other dementias and cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia. Syndesi announced a Series A financing round of €17M in February 2018, led by Novo Seeds and Fountain Healthcare with participation from Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, SRIW (Société Régionale d’Investissement de Wallonie), V-Bio Ventures and Vives Fund. Syndesi has been established at the Centre d’Entreprises et d’Innovation (CEI) in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium and is a resident company at Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABS (JLABS @ BE) in Beerse, Belgium. For more information please visit www.syndesitherapeutics.com