Addex names Jean-Philippe Rocher head of pharmaceutical development as Kalinichev departs
Rocher returns from Neurosterix retirement while Mikhail Kalinichev steps down to focus full time on his Neurosterix role.
Addex Therapeutics announced executive management changes on October 2, 2026, appointing Jean-Philippe Rocher as Head of Pharmaceutical Development and a member of the Executive Management.1 Rocher has more than 30 years of experience in drug discovery and development within the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, including previous roles at Addex.1
Separately, Mikhail Kalinichev has decided to step down from his role as Head of Translational Science at Addex to focus on a similar position he holds at Neurosterix.1
CEO Tim Dyer said Rocher is a pioneer in allosteric modulation approaches and was instrumental in industrializing the company's chemistry platform to deliver small molecule allosteric modulator clinical candidates at Addex and Neurosterix.1 Rocher said he is rejoining Addex at a pivotal time for the company following regaining rights to its GABAB PAM program from Indivior, with several drug candidates ready to start clinical development.1
According to the release, Rocher returns to Addex after retiring from his role as Head of Pharmaceutical Development at Neurosterix, which started in 2024 following the spin-out from Addex.1 He first rejoined Addex in 2018 from his position as CNS Program Director at Pierre Fabre, having originally joined Addex at its inception in 2002, where he established the company's chemistry capabilities.1 He played a role in the discovery of dipraglurant and ADX71149, both of which progressed into phase II, and his team discovered ADX71441, which was recently licensed to Indivior PLC.1
The release also describes Addex's pipeline, noting dipraglurant, an mGlu5 negative allosteric modulator, is a Phase 2 ready asset under evaluation for future development in brain injury recovery, including post-stroke and traumatic brain injury recovery.1 It adds that Addex holds a 20% equity interest in Neurosterix US Holdings LLC, which is advancing programs including an M4 PAM for schizophrenia and an mGlu7 NAM for mood disorders.1
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