Trevena Appoints Francois Nader, MD, to its Board of Directors

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Trevena, Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company involved in the discovery and development of G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) biased ligands, announced today that Francois Nader, MD, president and chief executive officer of NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has joined its Board of Directors. Dr. Nader is an industry leader with over 30 years of experience in the healthcare sector.

“Dr. Nader is a biopharmaceutical industry veteran with a track record of advancing novel therapies from the clinic to the market,” stated Maxine Gowen, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Trevena. “His guidance and perspective on clinical, regulatory, and corporate strategy will be of tremendous benefit to Trevena as we advance our clinical pipeline, including TRV027 for acute heart failure and TRV130 for postoperative pain. We also look forward to his insight as we work to leverage the potential of our novel biased-ligand technology platform to expand our pipeline and support long-term growth.”

“Trevena has been successful in rapidly translating its research on biased ligands and GCPRs into a promising portfolio of clinical candidates,” stated Dr. Nader. “The data emerging from these programs are impressive and underscore Trevena’s potential to offer differentiated treatments with improved efficacy and safety profiles. I look forward to working with the team at Trevena to further advance the pipeline and fulfill the promise of the company’s biased ligand approach.”

Dr. Nader has served as president, chief executive officer and a director of NPS Pharmaceuticals since 2008. Under his leadership, NPS transitioned into a global commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company with the successful launch of Gattex® (teduglutide [rDNA Origin]) for injection, its first medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of adult short bowel syndrome. NPS is expected to launch the product in certain international markets in 2014. Dr. Nader joined NPS Pharmaceuticals as chief medical and commercial officer in 2006 and was promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer in 2007.

Prior to joining NPS, Dr. Nader was a venture partner at Care Capital from 2005 to 2006. From 2000 to 2005, Dr. Nader served on the North America Leadership Team and held a number of executive positions at Aventis and its predecessor companies, including senior vice president, Integrated Healthcare Markets; senior vice president, North American Medical and Regulatory Affairs; and vice president U.S. Medical Affairs and Global Health Economics and Outcome Research. Previously, Dr. Nader led the global commercial operations at the Pasteur Vaccines Division of Rhone-Poulenc in France.

Dr. Nader currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for BioNJ, New Jersey’s trade organization representing the biotechnology industry. He is also a member of the boards of the Biotechnology Industry Association (BIO) and the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Nader recently received the Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2013 Award in the Life Sciences category. Dr. Nader earned his French Doctorate in Medicine from St. Joseph University (Lebanon) and his Physician Executive MBA from the University of Tennessee.

About Trevena

Trevena, Inc. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and intends to commercialize therapeutics that use a novel approach to target G protein coupled receptors, or GPCRs. Using its proprietary product platform, Trevena has identified and advanced two differentiated product candidates into the clinic -- TRV027 to treat acute heart failure and TRV130 to treat moderate to severe acute pain intravenously. Trevena also plans to advance additional product candidates, including two preclinical programs focused on central nervous system indications.

Trevena, Inc.
Roberto Cuca, senior vice president and chief financial officer
610-354-8840 x224
or
Argot Partners
Andrea Rabney, president and chief executive officer
212-600-1902

Source: Trevena, Inc.

Released January 8, 2014