Stalicla names chief scientific and clinical development advisor

Stalicla, a privately-held Swiss biotech, today announced that Dr Paulo Fontoura will be joining its drug development team as chief scientific and clinical development advisor, and will work to support the company’s mission to transform the treatment landscape for neurodevelopmental disorders.

“We are delighted and humbled to welcome Paulo to the Stalica team. With his unparalleled insight and unique understanding of CNS drug development and neurodevelopmental disorders, he is strengthening Stalica’s position as a pioneer in precision neuropsychiatry. Paulo’s expertise will be instrumental in helping us achieve our next milestones, notably our entry into two Phase II clinical trials in subgroups of patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), each with expected readouts in the coming 24 months,” commented Stalica’s chief executive Lynn Durham.

Dr Fontoura is a pioneer in innovative clinical development strategies. During his 16-year tenure at Roche (ROG: SIX), he served as the global head of neuroscience clinical development; he was instrumental in the launch of several ground-breaking meds targeting neurological conditions, including multiple sclerosis (MS), spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), as well as pioneering work on Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's disease, and several psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. Specifically, he and his team spearheaded the clinical development of new therapies for Fragile X, Down's and Angelman's syndromes, and the first pharmacological treatment for core symptoms of ASD which reached Phase III clinical trials in both adults and children. Additionally, his team co-led the Autism Innovative Medicine Studies (AIMS) including EU-AIMS and AIMS-2-TRIALS public private partnership.