“Dr. de Vera’s appointment represents the perfect alignment of expertise and vision to support NMD Pharma’s future. Her deep understanding of neuromuscular diseases, coupled with her proven success in bringing innovative treatments to market, makes her an ideal leader for our clinical programs. As we progress our Phase 2 trials and prepare for the next stages of development, Dr. de Vera’s strategic insights and regulatory expertise will be crucial in realizing the full potential of our first-in-class ClC-1 inhibitor approach to improve quality of life for people living with serious neuromuscular disorders,” says Thomas Holm Pedersen, Chief Executive Officer of NMD Pharma.

Ana de Vera

With over 20 years of expertise in drug development and commercialization, Dr. de Vera has a proven track record in leading projects and development teams across a myriad of therapeutic modalities, development stages and disease areas, including neuromuscular diseases, states the company. As part of her role as CMO, she will be responsible for supporting the continued development of NMD Pharma’s pipeline, including its three ongoing Phase 2 clinical trials of NMD670, the company’s novel, orally bioavailable skeletal muscle specific chloride ion channel (ClC-1) inhibitor, in patients living with generalized myasthenia gravis, spinal muscular atrophy, and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

Prior to joining NMD Pharma, de Vera served as Head of Development and Deputy CMO at Santhera Pharmaceuticals, where she played a pivotal role in completing successful new drug applications and marketing authorization applications (MAA) for AGAMREE (vamorolone), a treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, in the US and Europe. Under her leadership, regulatory applications were expanded to enable patient access in additional geographies, including the UK, Switzerland, China, Canada, and Israel. She also provided key scientific and strategic support to the commercial, market access, and medical affairs functions, ensuring successful reimbursement and launch strategies in these territories.

Previously, Dr. de Vera spent over 15 years at Novartis AG in progressively senior positions, including Global Program Medical Director for multiple development programs in dermatology, neuromuscular diseases, neurology, and immunology. As part of her duties, she oversaw the design and execution of early clinical trials of bimagrumab, a monoclonal antibody developed to treat pathological muscle loss and weakness, in sarcopenia, as well as supported the planning and implementation of pre-biologics license applications and MAA activities for inclusion body myositis, a rare neuromuscular disease.

A certified neurologist in Spain and Switzerland, Dr. de Vera holds a medical degree from Oviedo University and has over a decade of clinical neurology experience, serving as a visiting neurologist at numerous clinical sites. These include the Neurology Outpatient Clinic, University Hospital Basel, and the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital’s Multiple Sclerosis Unit, among other locations.

“Joining NMD Pharma represents an incredible opportunity to advance treatments for people living with neuromuscular diseases, many of which can significantly impact quality of life. Having led programs from early clinical development through to regulatory approval and commercialization, I am particularly excited about the potential of NMD670, the Company’s lead skeletal muscle specific ClC-1 inhibitor, to go beyond symptom management and directly improve muscle function. Together with the team, I am looking forward to supporting the development of this promising therapy for patients,” says Ana de Vera.