MedDay Appoints Industry Leader Christian Chavy as Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Frédéric Sedel to Transition to CSO

PARIS, July 26, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MedDay, a pioneering pharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of nervous system disorders, today announces the appointment of Christian Chavy MBA as Chief Executive Officer, effective 27^th August 2018.

Mr. Chavy will succeed Dr. Frédéric Sedel, CEO and Co-Founder of MedDay, who will remain in his existing role until August 27^th.  Dr. Sedel will then transition to Chief Scientific Officer and continue to serve on the board of directors.

Commenting on the appointment, Catherine Moukheibir, Chairman of the board, said, "We are thrilled to have Christian take on the role of CEO at this critical time for MedDay as we execute on our confirmatory Phase III clinical trial of MD1003 in progressive MS and make preparations to become a commercial stage company." 

"On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would also like to thank Dr. Frédéric Sedel, our co-founder, who has been instrumental in building MedDay into the company that it is today and has laid the groundwork for a company that ultimately should bring innovative treatments for patients," continued Mrs. Moukheibir. "Under his leadership, MedDay has advanced our lead candidate MD1003 into late stage clinical development, including completion of a successful Phase III trial in progressive MS, and is building a pipeline of promising candidates to treat CNS diseases.  The appointment of Christian Chavy represents a continuation of this strategy. We look forward, also, to further contributions from Frédéric Sedel in his new role as Chief Scientific Officer."

Mr. Christian Chavy commented, "I am honored to be appointed CEO of MedDay.  MD1003, which has a novel mechanism of action and which has already demonstrated strong clinical activity, is positioned to transform the treatment paradigm for progressive multiple sclerosis. We look forward to completing the Phase III trial and see a clear path to approval in the major markets, including U.S. and EU. MedDay is also dedicated to finding effective treatments for severe diseases of the nervous system through our pioneering work of targeting brain metabolism."

Dr. Frédéric Sedel commented, "I am convinced that Christian Chavy has the right skill set and vision to bring MedDay to the next stage. I am very excited with my new role as company CSO which I believe is the area where I can create the most value."

Mr. Chavy is a highly accomplished pharmaceutical executive with experience in Europe and North America. Most recently, he was the CEO of Stallergenes (2014-2016) and Partner at Ares Life Sciences (2010-2014).  His career highlights include 9 years at Actelion Pharmaceuticals (2000-2009) where he was promoted to President of Global Operations, with responsibility over USA, Europe, Japan and rest of the world. Prior to joining Actelion, he was VP, Head of the reproductive health commercial unit at Serono in Geneva and Chairman of Serono's French subsidiary. He also spent five years at Groupe Rhône Poulenc Rorer as its Chairman in Canada, having previously been Chairman and CEO of Rorer France.  Earlier in his career he held roles of increasing responsibility at Bristol-Myers France, SmithKline and French Laboratories, and Merck Sharpe & Dohme.

Mr. Chavy is currently chairman of the board of Ixaltis, a specialty pharmaceutical company developing innovative treatment for genitourinary tract disorders that he founded, and serves on the board of Cerenis. He is a graduate of the Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales (ESSEC) and the Institut de Contrôle de Gestion (ICG).

About MedDay
MedDay is a pioneering pharmaceutical company targeting brain metabolism to treat nervous system disorders. The company was founded in 2011.  The lead product, MD1003 is a formulation of high dose Pharmaceutical grade Biotin (hdPB) developed for progressive multiple sclerosis and other demyelinating diseases. The R&D pipeline also includes MD1103 in autism spectrum disorders and MD1105 in Alzheimer's disease.

MedDay explores brain metabolic pathways through its metabolomics research platform, SPECMET, which supports the discovery of additional pipeline assets. SPECMET screens cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from patients with various Central Nervous System (CNS) disorders to identify the disrupted metabolic pathways. Compounds that are known to affect these metabolic pathways are then identified and further developed. SPECMET was developed in collaboration with the Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (CEA) and in March 2017, MedDay acquired the health division of Profilomic SA, an innovative company formed out of the CEA in 2010, which significantly strengthened MedDay's research capabilities as the company aims to expand its pipeline.

MedDay is well funded by investors including Sofinnova Partners, InnoBio, Andera Partners and Bpifrance Large Venture. MedDay is headquartered in Paris and has a team in Boston.

For more information, please see: www.medday-pharma.com. Follow us on Twitter: @MedDayPharm.

Contact information:
MedDay Pharmaceuticals
Email: contact@medday-pharma.com