Gain Therapeutics Strengthens Management Team and Appoints Jonas Hannestad, M.D., Ph.D. as Chief Medical Officer

BETHESDA, Md., April 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gain Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: GANX) (“Gain”, or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company leading the discovery and development of the next generation allosteric small molecule therapies, today announces the appointment of Jonas Hannestad, M.D., Ph.D. as its chief medical officer, effective as of March 25, 2024.

“I am pleased to welcome Jonas to Gain and look forward to his contributions. His extensive development experience and in-depth scientific background in Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases will be invaluable as we advance our GT-02287 program through the ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial into further clinical development,” commented Gain CEO Matthias Alder.

Dr. Hannestad has 25 years of translational and early clinical development experience in CNS. His academic work focused on immuno-neurology, particularly on the effect of systemic inflammation on myeloid cells in the brain. His drug development expertise spans multiple indications, including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and ALS. Previously, he served as Chief Medical Officer at Tranquis Therapeutics and Capacity Bio, SVP of Clinical Development at Alkahest, Medical Director at Denali Therapeutics, and Director of Neuroscience Discovery Medicine at UCB Pharma. Prior to his industry career, Dr. Hannestad led the Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit at the Yale School of Medicine. He did postdoctoral work and residency training at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Duke School of Medicine, and the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute. He received his Ph.D. in Cell Biology from the University of Messina, Italy, and his M.D. from the University of Oviedo, Spain. 

“Looking at the extensive data package that the Gain team has generated during preclinical development, Gain’s lead drug candidate GT-02287 has a first and best-in-class profile. I look forward to working with this team on advancing this exciting and potentially disease-modifying therapy for patients with Parkinson’s disease,” added Dr. Hannestad.

Inducement Grant

In connection with his appointment, the Company granted Dr. Hannestad an option to purchase 200,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at an exercise price equal to $4.06 per share, the closing price of the Company’s common stock on March 22, 2024, the last trading day preceding Dr. Hannestad’s employment start date and date of grant. This award was approved by the Compensation Committee of Gain’s Board of Directors and granted under the Gain Therapeutics, Inc. 2021 Inducement Equity Incentive Plan, as an inducement material to Dr. Hannestad entering into employment with Gain, in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).