Paratus Sciences Announces Updates to its Board of Directors

- Experienced immunology R&D leader Dhavalkumar Patel, M.D., Ph.D., appointed Chair of the company’s Board of Directors 
- Steven Neier, Ph.D., Senior Director of Venture Investments on the Health team at Leaps by Bayer, will serve as a non-independent director
- Appointments come as Paratus advances PS-1001 toward first-in-human studies in 2027

BOSTON and SINGAPORE, Aug. 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Paratus Sciences (“Paratus”), a global biotechnology company decoding evolution to develop first-in-class medicines for serious diseases, today announced two appointments to its Board of Directors. Dhavalkumar Patel, M.D., Ph.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of Sana Biotechnology, has been named Chair of the company’s Board of Directors, and Steven Neier, Ph.D., Senior Director of Venture Investments on the Health team at Leaps by Bayer, will serve as a non-independent director, augmenting Paratus’s board with leaders who bring deep experience in clinical- and commercial-stage drug development and portfolio strategy. Dr. Patel succeeds Amir Nashat, Sc.D., who will remain on the board as a non-independent director.

“Dhaval and Steven share our ambition to turn bold, evolution-inspired science into medicines, and we are thrilled to welcome them to our board. I also want to thank Amir for his invaluable leadership through Paratus’s initial phase of growth,” said Alicia Secor, President and Chief Executive Officer of Paratus. “Building on that foundation, Dhaval’s experience advancing immunology programs from discovery through registration and Steven’s track record of translating emerging science into new therapeutic platforms will strengthen our development and portfolio strategy as we advance PS-1001 toward the clinic and expand the pipeline behind it.”

Paratus applies evolutionary biology to drug discovery, studying resilient traits across species to uncover new therapeutic opportunities in human disease. Paratus’s pipeline is initially focused on immune and inflammatory diseases and cardiometabolism. Its lead program, PS-1001, is a first-in-class pan-inflammasome inhibitor that targets ASC, a central regulator of inflammasome signaling. Designed to reduce pathological inflammatory signaling upstream of IL-1ß and IL-18, PS-1001 has the potential to address a broad range of chronic inflammatory diseases. Preclinial and translational data support its advancement into a first-in-human trial planned for 2027.

Dhavalkumar Patel, M.D., Ph.D., Board Chair
Dr. Patel brings more than 20 years of research and development leadership in immunology and inflammation. He serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of Sana Biotechnology, and previously held the same roles at UCB, where his teams contributed to the registration of bimekizumab (Bimzelx^®), rozanolixizumab (Rystiggo^®) and zilucoplan (Zilbrysq^®). He previously spent a decade at Novartis, culminating in the role of Head of Research for the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) Europe, where he led research across autoimmune, transplantation and inflammation and contributed to the regulatory approval of eight new medicines. Dr. Patel currently serves on the boards of Priothera Ltd., Quell Therapeutics Limited and Re-Aim Therapeutics. He served as Chair of the board of Mimetas BV prior to its recent acquisition by Bruker Corporation, and on the Board of Directors of Inflazome Ltd. prior to its acquisition by Roche.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Patel was Chief of Rheumatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, where he also served as Director of the Thurston Arthritis Research Center. Dr. Patel received his B.S., M.D. and Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology from Duke University, and is board certified in internal medicine, rheumatology, and allergy & immunology.

“Paratus has translated its distinctive approach to discovery into a compelling lead program targeting a central mechanism in inflammatory disease,” said Dr. Patel. “I look forward to working with Paratus’s leadership and board to advance PS-1001 into the clinic and extend this approach to additional first-in-class medicines.”

Steven Neier, Ph.D., Non-Independent Director
Dr. Neier brings extensive experience in venture capital, strategic investment and early-stage company-building. He serves as Senior Director of Venture Investments on the Health team at Leaps by Bayer, where he leads search and evaluation as well as healthcare-focused investments. He previously helped launch and lead Binney Street Capital, the venture fund of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where, as Principal, he sourced and oversaw investments in companies including Neomorph, Matchpoint Therapeutics, and Precede Biosciences. Before the fund's launch, Dr. Neier helped execute Dana-Farber's strategic alliance with MPM Capital, supporting translational research and new company formation.

During his postdoctoral fellowship at Dana-Farber, he led the strategic development of multiple platform technologies and co-founded NextRNA Therapeutics. Dr. Neier holds a B.S. in mathematics from Union College and a Ph.D. in immunology from the Mayo Clinic.

“By targeting ASC upstream of IL-1ß and IL-18, PS-1001 offers a novel approach with the potential to address chronic inflammatory diseases where patients still face incomplete disease control,” said Dr. Neier. “I look forward to helping Paratus move PS-1001 toward first-in-human studies and translate its distinctive science into a broader pipeline.”

About Paratus
Paratus is decoding evolution to discover and develop first-in-class medicines for serious diseases where today’s therapies fall short. The company integrates evolutionary biology, AI-powered discovery and deep multi-omic data to uncover biologically validated pathways that can inform new medicines. Paratus is advancing PS-1001, a first-in-class pan-inflammasome inhibitor and its lead program, toward first-in-human studies, alongside a broader pipeline of differentiated therapeutic programs in cardiometabolic and immune and inflammatory diseases.

Paratus is headquartered in Boston, Mass., with research operations in Singapore. Visit paratussciences.com or follow us on LinkedIn to learn more.

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Lisa Raffensperger
Ten Bridge Communications
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