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About us
Leading the Discovery of Allosteric Binding Sites to Create New Medicines
OVERVIEW

LEADING THE DISCOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT OF NEXT GENERATION ALLOSTERIC SMALL MOLECULE THERAPIES

Our mission at Gain Therapeutics is to discover and develop groundbreaking medicines that transform lives and provide hope and improved quality of life to people suffering from debilitating neurodegenerative diseases, rare genetic disorders and cancer.

Our clinical stage lead program GT-02287 has a best-in-class profile based on preclinical data and is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial. GT-02287 has disease-modifying potential in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and has applications in other neurodegenerative diseases, including Gaucher disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Our MagellanTM drug discovery platform integrates AI-supported structural biology, proprietary algorithms and supercomputer-powered physics-based models to uncover novel allosteric binding sites on disease-implicated proteins across all therapeutic areas, pinpointing pockets that cannot be found or drugged with current technologies. With Magellan, we discover novel, allosteric small molecule modulators that restore or disrupt protein function through activation, inhibition, stabilization, destabilization and targeted degradation, depending on the effect required based on the disease biology.

The allosteric mechanism of action enables us to generate first-in-class or best-in-class product candidates, and we have applied our platform to generate the entirety of our product pipeline

Click on these links to learn more about our science, technology and programs.

Leadership Team
GeneMack
Gene Mack
Interim Chief Executive Officer Chief Financial Officer

Gene Mack serves as interim-Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Gain Therapeutics. He joined the Company in April 2024 and brings 25 years of experience in the life sciences sector spanning clinical research, financing and capital markets, investing, corporate strategy and business development. Prior to joining Gain, Gene was CFO at privately held Imcyse SA between 2021 and 2023. Previous to Imcyse, Gene was CFO at OncoC4, a privately held biotechnology company that spun out of Merck & Co’s (MSD) $475 million acquisition of OncoImmune in 2020 where he had also been CFO. Before that, he has held the CFO role for several development- and commercial-stage biopharmaceutical companies, raising over $350 million in IPO and other equity transactions. Prior to his operational experience, Gene covered the biotechnology and life sciences sector as a senior publishing analyst at various investment banks, including Gruntal & Co, Lazard, Mizuho, and HSBC. Gene received both his B.S. in Biochemistry and M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University.

KhalidIslam
Khalid Islam, Ph.D.
Executive Chairman

Dr. Khalid Islam serves as Executive Chairman of Gain Therapeutics. He co-founded the Company in 2017 with over 30 years of experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. He is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Fennec Pharmaceuticals and Minoryx Therapeutics, advisor to Kurma Biofund, as well as a director of Processa Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Islam previously served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Gentium, where, under his leadership, Defitelio was granted marketing authorization and the company went from a $25 million valuation to a $1 billion all-cash merger with Jazz Pharmaceuticals. He also developed his career as President and Chief Executive Officer of Arpida, where he transitioned the early-stage startup to a SWX-listed company and raised $300 million between their initial public offering and follow-ons. In addition, Dr. Islam held various positions at HMR & MMD (now Sanofi-Aventis) and he also worked in academia at Imperial College, University of London and Milan University, where he was a contract professor. He has also previously served as a director of Immunomedics, Karolinska Development, MolMed, OxThera, Rheoscience, PCovery, Adenium and C10 Pharma. Dr. Islam received his Ph.D. from Imperial College, University of London.

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Jonas Hannestad M.D, Ph.D.
Chief Medical Officer

Jonas Hannestad, M.D., Ph.D. serves as Chief Medical Officer of Gain Therapeutics. He joined the Company in March 2024 and brings 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.

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Terenzio Ignoni, Pharm.D.
SVP Technical Operations

Dr. Terenzio Ignoni, joined Gain Therapeutic in June 2021 as SVP Quality and CMC bringing with him more than 22 years of hands-on experience in pharmaceutical technical operations, quality and regulatory CMC with a successful track record of drug approvals in multiple jurisdictions, notably: Europe, USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and Latin America. Before joining Gain, Terenzio was VP Quality and QP at Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ NASDAQ), a global biopharmaceutical company focused on neuroscience and oncology rare diseases. During his tenure at Jazz, Terenzio lead product submissions, technical due diligences and site pre-approval inspections from US-FDA, PMDA, ANVISA, EMA. Prior to Jazz Pharmaceutical, Terenzio held the position of VP Quality at Gentium a biopharmaceutical company specialized in the development and manufacturing of biopharmaceutical products. During his time at Gentium, he was in charge of the development and deployment of the quality system, technical operations (manufacturing and control) and CMC regulatory strategy leading to the EMA approval of the drug lead candidate in 2013 and of the merge of the company with Jazz Pharmaceuticals in 2014. Terenzio started his career as Quality Control supervisor at Biosearch manufacturing (merged into Vicuron/Pfizer), a company specialized in the development and manufacturing of antibiotics agents and as Analytical Development & Quality Control Manager of Zambon Group (Lonigo manufacturing site). Terenzio received a Pharm.D. from the University of Turin, Italy.

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Dr. Joanne Taylor
SVP, Research

Dr. Joanne Taylor, Ph.D. has served as a scientific advisor to Gain since September 2020. Dr. Taylor has over 25 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical industry and has consulted for various pharma and biotech clients since 2018. She also developed her career as vice president, head of neuroscience for Prescient Healthcare Group where she headed up their neuroscience business (comprising neurology, psychiatry, ophthalmology, rare diseases and pain), supporting the portfolio, clinical and regulatory strategies of a wide array of global top 25 pharmaceutical company clients. She also served as director of external research, neuroscience and previously as a senior group leader and scientist at Eisai’s London Research Laboratories and European Headquarters where she directed global teams in the discovery of novel therapeutic strategies for neurological conditions, in particular Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. There she later led neuroscience portfolio reviews to identify areas of major focus and investment, as well as partnering activities with academia and biotech. Dr. Taylor received a Ph.D. in in Developmental Neuroscience from King’s College and completed a postdoctoral fellowship and senior research post at the ETH in Zurich.

Board Of Directors
KhalidIslam
Khalid Islam, Ph.D.
Executive Chairman

Dr. Khalid Islam serves as Executive Chairman of Gain Therapeutics. He co-founded the Company in 2017 with over 30 years of experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. He is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Fennec Pharmaceuticals and Minoryx Therapeutics, advisor to Kurma Biofund, as well as a director of Processa Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Islam previously served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Gentium, where, under his leadership, Defitelio was granted marketing authorization and the company went from a $25 million valuation to a $1 billion all-cash merger with Jazz Pharmaceuticals. He also developed his career as President and Chief Executive Officer of Arpida, where he transitioned the early-stage startup to a SWX-listed company and raised $300 million between their initial public offering and follow-ons. In addition, Dr. Islam held various positions at HMR & MMD (now Sanofi-Aventis) and he also worked in academia at Imperial College, University of London and Milan University, where he was a contract professor. He has also previously served as a director of Immunomedics, Karolinska Development, MolMed, OxThera, Rheoscience, PCovery, Adenium and C10 Pharma. Dr. Islam received his Ph.D. from Imperial College, University of London.

Eric_I_Richman
Eric I. Richman
Member

Eric I. Richman began his career in venture capital at HealthCare Ventures and most recently was venture partner at Brace Pharma Capital, a life science venture capital firm. He also serves as an advisor to Broad Oak Capital, a life science private equity firm and as a Venture Partner at Allele Capital. Mr. Richman has also previously served as chief executive officer of Tyrogenex and PharmAthene, subsequently acquired by Altimmune. Prior to PharmAthene, Mr. Richman held various commercial and strategic positions at MedImmune over a 12-year period from its inception. He has previously served as a director of Adma Biologics, Zyversa Therapeutics, and LEV Pharma, which was acquired by Viropharma, among others private and public companies. Mr. Richman received a B.S. in Biomedical Science from the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education (CUNY Medical School) and an MBA from the American Graduate School of International Management.

Jeffrey_Riley
Jeffrey Riley
Independent Member

Jeffrey Riley has served as a member of the board of directors since May 2019. Mr. Riley has more than 25 years of experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, during which he has negotiated numerous worldwide strategic corporate alliances, established joint ventures and assisted in venture financings to support product development. He has raised over $1.5 billion in equity and debt instruments. He has served in big pharma (SmithKline Beecham and Pfizer), venture capital (Queensland Biocapital Fund / QIC) and numerous biotechnology companies in the capacity of business development and general management. Mr.Riley also developed his career as the president, chief executive officer and a director of Synthetic Biologics, a clinical-stage company leveraging the microbiome to develop therapeutics designed to prevent and treat gastrointestinal diseases. He has served as a member of several public and private boards of directors in the United States and Australia. Mr. Riley received a B.S. degree from Boise State University an MBA/MIM from Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management and has done advanced science work at the University of California, San Francisco and Berkeley.

Dov_Goldstein_M.D
Dov Goldstein, M.D.
Independent Member

Dr. Goldstein brings more than two decades of experience in the biotech industry to the Gain board of directors. He is currently the Chief Financial and Business Officer of Indapta Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing a proprietary, off-the-shelf, allogeneic FcRγ-deficient natural killer (G-NK) cell therapy to treat multiple cancers. Prior to Indapta, Dr. Goldstein served as Chief Executive Officer at RIGImmune. From 2006-2019, he worked at Aisling Capital, a private investment firm. Dr. Goldstein also served as the Chief Financial Officer of Loxo Oncology, Inc. and Vicuron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which was acquired by Pfizer, Inc. in September 2005. Dr. Goldstein has served as a director at ADMA Biologics, Inc., Esperion Therapeutics, Inc., and Cempra, Inc. (which was acquired by Melinta Therapeutics, Inc.). Dr. Goldstein received a B.S. from Stanford University, an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School, and an M.D. from Yale School of Medicine. He completed an internship in the Department of Medicine at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital.

Gwen_Melincoff
Gwen Melincoff
Independent Member

Ms. Melincoff is a seasoned business development and venture professional with over 25 years of deal-making and management experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Ms. Melincoff is currently managing director at Gemini Advisors LLC, a biopharmaceutical consultancy, and an advisor to Verge Genomics, a startup drug discovery company and Agent Capital. Previously, Ms. Melincoff served as Vice President of Business Development at BTG International Inc., a UK-specialist healthcare company. Prior to BTG, Ms. Melincoff was Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Shire Plc (acquired by Takeda). Additionally, she led the Shire Strategic Investment Group, the venture capital arm of Shire Plc. Ms. Melincoff was Vice President of Business Development at Adolor Corporation and held executive positions at Eastman Kodak for over ten years in a number of their health care companies. She serves on the board of directors of several biopharmaceutical companies, including Protalix Biotherapeutics, Inc., Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc. and Soleno Therapeutics, Inc. and has previously served on the boards of Photocure ASA, Kamada Ltd. and Tobira Therapeutics Inc. Ms. Melincoff holds a B.S. in Biology from The George Washington University and an M.S. in Management and Health Care Administration from Pennsylvania State University.

Claude_Nicaise_M.D
Claude Nicaise, M.D.
Independent Member

Dr. Nicaise is the founder of Clinical Regulatory Services, a company providing advice on clinical and regulatory matters to biotechnology companies. Dr. Nicaise serves on the board for Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc., chairs their Compensation committee, and is a member of their Research and Development committee. Since 2015, Dr. Nicaise has served as an Executive Vice President Regulatory at Ovid Therapeutics Inc., a company that develops medicines for orphan diseases of the brain. Dr. Nicaise was a Senior Vice President of Strategic Development and Global Regulatory Affairs at Alexion Pharmaceuticals from 2008 to 2014. From 1983 to 2008, Dr. Nicaise served in various positions of increasing responsibility at Bristol-Myers Squibb, including senior positions such as Vice President of Global Development, Vice-President of Worldwide Regulatory Science and Strategy, and leadership positions in Oncology, Infectious Disease, and Neuroscience development. Dr. Nicaise received his medical degree from the Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium.

Hans_Peter_Hasler
Hans Peter Hasler
Independent Member

Mr. Hasler was the Chief Executive Officer of Vicarius Pharma AG, a privately held European Bio-Pharma company until 2020. He also is a Senior Advisor of SBTech Global Advisory. His prior experiences include Elan Corporation, Dublin, where he was Chief Operating Officer, and Biogen Inc., Boston, where his positions included Chief Operating Officer, and EVP, Head of Global Neurology and International. Previously, Mr. Hasler was at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Radnor/PA, as Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer and Managing Director of Wyeth Group Germany, Münster. Mr. Hasler is Chairman of the Board of HBM Healthcare Investments AG in Switzerland (SIX), Chairman of the Board of Shield Therapeutics, London (AIM), and a Director of Minerva Neurosciences in Boston (Nasdaq). He holds a Federal Swiss Commercial Diploma and a Marketing Manager Certificate from the Swiss Institute of Business Economy SIB, Zurich.

PARTNERS
Grants
Patient Associations
Centers of Research, Translational Science & Clinical Excellence
Scientific Advisory Board
Samuel-Broder-M.D
Samuel Broder, MD

Samuel Broder, MD has spent a lifetime at the forefront of science and medicine in many diverse arenas. He is the former Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) where he oversaw the development of numerous anti-cancer therapeutic agents. Dr. Broder also helped launch a number of large-scale clinical trials related to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer, and he inaugurated the highly successful Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE). Furthermore, during the 1980s, his laboratory was responsible for developing the first 3 agents approved by FDA specifically to treat the AIDS virus (Retrovir® (AZT), Videx® (ddI), and HIVID® (ddC). He joined the Celera Corporation at its founding in 1998, as the Executive VP for Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer, and there he helped advance the human genome project. His most recent executive position was as SVP, Health Sector, Intrexon Corp, with responsibilities for gene therapy and synthetic biology. He is the author or co-author of over 340 scientific publications, and is an inventor on many patents. He has received numerous awards related to his research in cancer and AIDS. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 1993. He graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor in 1970, did an internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Stanford University in Palo Alto, and then did subspecialty training in medical oncology at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.

Interested in working with a dynamic team of research, medical and business professionals?