MINERVA NEUROSCIENCES TO HOST KEY OPINION LEADER MEETING ON ROLUPERIDONE: A POTENTIALLY NOVEL MECHANISM TO TREAT THE NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS OF SCHIZOPHRENIA

WALTHAM, Mass., March 24, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Minerva Neurosciences, Inc. NERV, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapies addressing high unmet medical needs in the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disorders, today announced that it will host a Key Opinion Leader (KOL) call on roluperidone and the treatment of the negative symptoms of schizophrenia on Tuesday, March 31, 2020.

Dr. Remy Luthringer, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Minerva, will join William T. Carpenter, MD, University of Maryland, Ofer Agid, MD, University of Toronto, John Kane, MD, Hofstra University/ Northwell Health System, and Stephen Marder, MD, UCLA, to discuss the treatment of negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

In the second quarter of 2020, Minerva expects to announce top line results from a Phase 3 study with roluperidone in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia with negative symptoms. Roluperidone is the only molecule in advanced clinical development that to date has shown a specific effect on negative symptoms in schizophrenia.

Tuesday, March 31,  8:00 a.m. Eastern Time

Dr. Carpenter is a Professor of the University of Maryland School of Medicine and past Director of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. He is Past-President of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology and chairs the scientific program committee of the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation. He also chaired the DSM-V Psychosis Work Group.

Dr. Agid is Clinician Scientist and Psychiatrist in the Schizophrenia Program and Medical Head, Ambulatory Services and the Lead Psychiatrist, Partial Hospital Program at the Schizophrenia Program, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Kane is Senior Vice President for Behavioral Health Services of the Northwell Health System. He is Chairman of Psychiatry and Professor of Psychiatry and Molecular Medicine at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. He has chaired review and advisory committees at the NIMH and the Food and Drug Administration and has served as President of the Schizophrenia International Research Society and the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology.

Dr. Marder is currently the Director of the Veterans Integrated Service Network 22 Mental Illness Research, Education Clinical Center for the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Director of the Section on Psychosis at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute. He is a Professor and the Vice Chair for Education at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience at UCLA.

About Minerva Neurosciences

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; 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 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 future clinical trials and results of clinical trials with roluperidone (MIN-101); the clinical and therapeutic potential of this compound; the timing and outcomes of future interactions with U.S. and foreign regulatory bodies; 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 will advance further in the clinical trials process and whether and when, if at all, it 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 Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 9, 2020.  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