Minerva Neurosciences to Host Live Conference Call and Webcast With Key Opinion Leaders to Discuss Successful Insomnia Trial With Seltorexant

• Call scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on June 24 to review results of successful Phase 2b trial showing achievement of primary and secondary endpoints with potential first-in-class specific orexin-₂ receptor antagonist for the treatment of insomnia
  
  
• Key Opinion Leaders, Dr. Thomas Roth and Dr. David Kupfer, to be joined by Dr. Remy Luthringer, Executive Chairman and CEO of Minerva

WALTHAM, Mass., June 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Minerva Neurosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: NERV), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapies to treat central nervous system (CNS) disorders, will host a live conference call and webcast tomorrow, June 24, 2019 to discuss the results of its successful Phase 2b clinical trial of seltorexant (MIN-202) in patients with insomnia disorder (see dial-in information below).  The Company plans to issue a press release detailing top-line results prior to the call.

Conference Call Information:

Minerva Neurosciences will hold a conference call and live audio webcast on June 24, 2019 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the results of this trial.  To participate, please dial (877) 312-5845 (domestic) or (765) 507-2618 (international) and refer to conference ID 1644578.  To access the webcast, please go to https://engage.vevent.com/rt/minervaneurosciencesinc~062419.

The live webcast can also be accessed under "Events and Presentations” in the Investors and Media section of Minerva’s website at ir.minervaneurosciences.com.  The archived webcast will be available on the website beginning approximately two hours after the event for 90 days.

Key Opinion Leaders:

Dr. Thomas Roth

Thomas Roth, Ph.D., founded the Sleep Disorders and Research Center at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan in 1978 and has since served as Director of the Center. Dr. Roth is also a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, and serves as a Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan’s College of Medicine in Ann Arbor.

Dr. Roth primarily publishes on the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, comorbidity with other disorders, and treatment of insomnia. His research focuses on sleep loss, sleep fragmentation, and deviation from sleep processes, including pharmacological effects and sleep pathologies.

After serving as President of the Sleep Research Society and the Founding President of the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), Dr. Roth became Chairman of the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research Advisory Board at the National Institute of Health. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).

In 2002, Dr. Roth received the NSF’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his accomplishments and contributions to sleep science, sleep medicine, and public health.  He also received a Distinguished Research Award from the Sleep Research Society as well as the Nathanial Kleitman Award from the Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Dr. Roth is the past Editor-in-Chief of the journal Sleep. He currently sits on the editorial boards of Sleep Reviews, Stress Medicine, Advances in Therapy, and Human Psychopharmacology. Dr. Roth has published over 525 manuscripts, 13 edited volumes, 250 chapters, and 621 abstracts.

Dr. David Kupfer

David J. Kupfer, M.D., is Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and a board member of Minerva Neurosciences.  He received his bachelor’s and M.D. degrees from Yale University.  Following completion of an internship, Dr. Kupfer continued his postgraduate clinical and research training at the Yale New Haven Hospital and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).  In 1970, he was appointed Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine.  Dr. Kupfer joined the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh in 1973.

From 1983 to 2009, Dr. Kupfer served as Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and Director of Research at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. Under Dr. Kupfer's direction, WPIC became one of the nation's preeminent university-based psychiatric research centers.

Dr. Kupfer's own research has focused primarily on sleep physiology, on long-term treatment strategies for recurrent mood disorders, and on the relationship between biomarkers and depression.  A prolific writer, Dr. Kupfer has authored or co-authored a combination of more than 1,000 articles, books, and book chapters, principally focused on sleep and mood disorders. 

He is internationally recognized for his role as Chair of the American Psychiatric Association Task Force for DSM-5. In recognition of his contributions to the field, Dr. Kupfer has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors from professional societies.  In 1990, he was elected to the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine).   

About Seltorexant (MIN-202)
Seltorexant is a selective orexin-₂ receptor antagonist under co-development by Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V., a Pharmaceutical Company of Johnson & Johnson, and Minerva as adjunctive therapy for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and for the treatment of insomnia disorder. The orexin system in the brain is involved in the control of several key functions, including metabolism, stress response and wakefulness. This system promotes arousal (wakefulness) and is hypothesized to play a role in excessive arousal, which occurs in patients with insomnia and in subsets of patients with mood disorders, and to have clinical utility in the treatment of such patients.

About Minerva Neurosciences
Minerva Neurosciences, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of a portfolio of product candidates to treat CNS diseases.  Minerva’s proprietary compounds include: roluperidone (MIN-101), in clinical development for schizophrenia; seltorexant (MIN-202 or JNJ-42847922), in clinical development for insomnia and MDD; MIN-117, in clinical development for MDD; and MIN-301, in pre-clinical development for Parkinson’s disease.  Minerva’s common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol "NERV.”  For more information, please visit http://www.minervaneurosciences.com.

Forward-Looking Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended.  Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts, reflect management’s expectations as of the date of this press release, and involve certain risks and uncertainties.  Forward-looking statements include statements herein with respect to the timing and scope of current clinical trials and results of clinical trials with roluperidone, seltorexant, MIN-117 and MIN-301; the timing and scope of future clinical trials and results of clinical trials with these compounds; the clinical and therapeutic potential of these compounds; our ability to successfully develop and commercialize our therapeutic products; the sufficiency of our current cash position to fund our operations; and management’s ability to successfully achieve its goals.  These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and may differ materially from actual results due to a variety of factors including, without limitation, whether roluperidone, seltorexant, MIN-117 and MIN-301 will advance further in the clinical trials process and whether and when, if at all, they will receive final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or equivalent foreign regulatory agencies and for which indications; whether any of our therapeutic products will be successfully marketed if approved; whether any of our therapeutic product discovery and development efforts will be successful; management’s ability to successfully achieve its goals; our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations on terms acceptable to us; and general economic conditions.  These and other potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the results predicted are more fully detailed under the caption "Risk Factors” in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2019, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 6, 2019.  Copies of reports filed with the SEC are posted on our website at www.minervaneurosciences.com. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to us as of the date hereof, and we disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Contact:

William B. Boni
VP, Investor Relations/
Corp. Communications
Minerva Neurosciences, Inc.
(617) 600-7376