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Mithra announces the appointment of David H Solomon as Chief Executive Officer

Liege, Belgium, 4 April 2023 – 7:00 CET – Mithra (Euronext Brussels: MITRA), a company dedicated to Women’s Health, appoints Dr. David H Solomon as Chief Executive Officer starting on April 11th, 2023. This follows the assignment of Mr. Leon Van Rompay and an extensive, global search process for a successor.

Dr. David H Solomon brings over 30 years of experience of strong strategic, operational, and innovation-minded leadership to Mithra. He has a proven track record of successful R&D pipeline delivery, strategic business development and deal making across multiple leading roles in the life sciences, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries in the US and Europe.

Dr. Solomon’s appointment follows a thorough and selective process organized by the Nomination and Remuneration Committee with the assistance of Stanton Chase Executive Search. He was elected with unanimous approval of the Board of Directors.

Christian Moretti, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said: « I am very pleased to welcome Dr. David H Solomon as our new Chief Executive Officer. With David at the helm as CEO, Mithra is in a solid position to maximize the potential of our IP and technology through strong collaborations and the commercial results of our products. His leadership experience with companies based in both the US and the EU, makes David the ideal candidate to lead Mithra into its next level of growth. I would like to thank Leon Van Rompay for the work he has accomplished at the head of Mithra. Leon has strengthened the organization in order to allow Mithra to pursue its ambitions. »

David H Solomon, newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of Mithra, added: « I am honored to have been given the opportunity to lead Mithra. Estetrol is a unique estrogen with a proven efficacy profile  and a differentiated safety profile for the use in menopause as Donesta®, and Estelle® as a combined oral contraceptive that will be important as we advance our commitment to Women’s Health. I am excited to continue the clinical development of Donesta® towards approval and to innovating Estetrol in new indications. Women’s Health has been underserved and, at Mithra, we are committed to further innovate therapeutic solutions to help women and to translate science into meaningful value for both patients and investors. I’m looking forward to continuing these promising developments and to work alongside the talented Mithra team. »

Leon Van Rompay, former Chief Executive Officer of Mithra, commented: « I would like to pay a vibrant tribute to the teams at Mithra for the quality of the work they have accomplished during the last 24 months, but also to extend my congratulations to the executive committee that has accompanied me since 2021. The task was titanic and the new era of Mithra takes shape under our eyes, little by little. I leave Mithra with the feeling of accomplished duty. Together with all the teams, we have managed to refocus the attention on Mithra’s core business while giving it the means to achieve its ambitions. David will build on the very encouraging progress made in recent weeks which is further evidence of the many opportunities for the future that Mithra is able to offer. »

Jean-Michel Foidart, member of the Board and co-founder of Mithra, said: « I am happy to welcome Dr. David H Solomon as our new CEO. His scientific driven leadership and long-standing international managerial and financial expertise will bring Mithra’s assets to the market and attract new investments. With his European and US connections, he will work with the Board and our outstanding team to face challenges, shape the future, and bring international success. »

Gaetan Servais, CEO of Noshaq and member of the Board of Directors, concluded: « The appointment of David H Solomon allows Mithra to enter a new chapter in its development, which will be focused on the commercial exploitation of Estelle® and Donesta®. We are confident that David is the right man for the job, as his track record demonstrates his strong skills in managing international biotech companies. Noshaq thanks Leon Van Rompay for the hard work he and his teams have done over the past two years. Thanks to them, Mithra remains a company with great potential that David will lead to new heights. »

Experience

Prior to joining Mithra, Dr. Solomon served as Chief Executive Officer of Pharnext Therapeutics (Euronext Paris:PXT). David oversaw the clinical development of Pharnext’s lead product,  PXT3003 in Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A which benefits from orphan drug status in Europe and the United States. Pharnext raised over USD 100 million in support of its programs while Dr. Solomon was CEO. The company is fully recruited in its pivotal Phase III trial PREMIER in CMT1A with readout in Q4 2023.

Earlier, he was CEO of Silence Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:SLN). David restructured the company’s management, streamlined corporate and R&D operations and embarked on fundraising and business development agreements in support of the company’s lead assets. In July 2019, Silence Therapeutics announced the completion of a licensing and collaboration agreement with Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, valued at up to USD 2.1 billion to advance gene-silencing medicines to treat complement-mediated diseases. During David’s leadership of Silence Therapeutics, the share price increased over 10-fold.

As CEO of Akari Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKTX), Dr. Solomon raised USD 20 million of capital and initiated Coversin™ clinical programs in a range of indications. As Managing Partner and Chairman of Sund Capital, David led a team dedicated to crossover investments, IPO investments, Private Placements and in-the-market investments in therapeutic opportunities found in Nordic-based private and public companies.

During his tenure as CEO at Zealand Pharma (NASDAQ:ZEAL),  David helped build the company’s novel proprietary pipeline of revolutionary medicines, listed the company on NASDAQ:OMX in 2010, raising USD 80 million, and completed agreements with Sanofi, Boehringer Ingelheim, Helsinn, AbbVie and Lilly. While at Zealand Pharma, their first medicine – the GLP-1 receptor agonist lixisenatide in diabetes and obesity, now sold by Sanofi as Adlyxin®, and in combination with Lantus® as Soliqua®– received sales and marketing approval.

Dr. Solomon studied at the Weil Cornell Medical College and its Graduate School of Medical Sciences where he received his PhD. He was a faculty member at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons in the departments of Pharmacology, Neurology and Biological Sciences. From 2003 to 2006, Dr. Solomon headed healthcare investing at Carrot Capital Healthcare Ventures in New York City.

Dr. Solomon was previously the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Advicenne (EURONEXT:ADVCN) and a member of the Board of Directors of TxCell S.A. (EURONEXT:TXCL) (acquired by Sangamo Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SGMO)), Onxeo SA (EURONEXT:ONXEO) and Promosome, LLC.

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