SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Aug. 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nitrase Therapeutics, Inc., a clinic-ready biopharmaceutical company deploying its NITROME platform to build a pipeline of therapies targeting nitrases (and their substrates), a new class of enzymes discovered in-house with promise against a broad variety of diseases, today announced the appointment of industry veterans Miles Gerson, J.D./MBA, James B. Summers, Ph.D., and Hugh M. Cole, MBA, to its Board of Directors.

"We are pleased to welcome these accomplished leaders to our Board of Directors as we prepare to transition from a preclinical company to a clinical-stage organization," said Irene Griswold-Prenner, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Nitrase Therapeutics. "Their extensive experience spanning drug development, clinical execution, corporate strategy and company building will be instrumental as we prepare to advance our lead program, NDC-0524, into the clinic. I would also like to extend my sincere gratitude to our departing directors for their dedicated service, thoughtful counsel and many contributions to the company. Their leadership has helped build the strong foundation on which we are poised to enter this exciting next chapter."

James B. Summers, Ph.D.
James B. Summers, Ph.D., has over 30 years of drug discovery and pharmaceutical research management experience. He currently serves on the board of directors, scientific advisory board and as an advisor to several biotechnology companies and is a Venture Partner with the Dementia Discovery Fund. Previously, Jim was Vice President of Neuroscience Research at AbbVie, where he led efforts located in Lake County, IL, Cambridge, MA, and Ludwigshafen, Germany focused on the discovery of new drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, pain, and psychiatric disorders. Under his leadership, teams have advanced more than twenty compounds into clinical development. Jim established new research sites in Cambridge, MA and Shanghai, China, was an architect of strategies that defined the future direction of global research organizations, and championed multiple successful outlicensing deals, biotech collaborations and venture investments. Jim earned a B.S., summa cum laude, in chemistry from Denison University and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Harvard University.

Hugh M. Cole, MBA
Hugh M. Cole, MBA has held a number of senior executive positions at biopharma companies, including most recently Chief Operating Officer at Jounce Therapeutics. Hugh also served on the Board of Directors of Astria Therapeutics from 2019 until its acquisition by BioCryst in 2026. Prior to Jounce, Hugh was the Chief Business Officer at ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, a publicly held pharmaceutical company acquired by Takeda in 2017. Prior to ARIAD, he held positions of increasing responsibility at Shire Pharmaceuticals, including Senior Vice President, Strategic Planning and Program Management, HAE Global Franchise Leader, and Head of Business Development for Shire’s rare disease business. Hugh holds an A.B. in Chemistry from Harvard University and an MBA in Health Care Management and Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Miles Gerson, J.D./MBA
Miles Gerson, J.D./MBA joined SV as a partner in 2026 and is co-leading SV Health Investors’ Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF). Prior to joining SV, Miles served as Head of Takeda Ventures where he managed Takeda’s corporate venture team and oversaw an equity portfolio of more than 60 private and public life sciences investments. Prior to Takeda Ventures, Miles served as founding management of early-stage companies, led investment diligence for venture and private equity firms based in the U.S. and Europe and held multiple senior operational roles for venture-backed and publicly-traded life sciences companies. Miles obtained a JD/MBA in Strategic Management in Life & Engineering Sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as a Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Neuroscience & Behavioral Studies from Wesleyan University in Connecticut.

About Nitrase Therapeutics, Inc.
Nitrase Therapeutics is a clinic-ready, pioneering biopharmaceutical company deploying its unique NITROME platform to unlock the therapeutic potential of nitrases, a new class of enzymes discovered in-house with promise against a broad variety of diseases. Our lead program is NDC-0524, a first-in-class antibody designed to selectively target the pathogenic form of alpha-synuclein associated with Parkinson’s disease. Supported by strong preclinical efficacy and safety, NDC-0524 is ready to advance into a Phase 1/2a clinical study and has the potential to become a transformative disease-modifying therapy for Parkinson’s disease. Nitrase Therapeutics is located in South San Francisco, CA, and its investors include Sofinnova Partners, Dementia Discovery Fund, Bristol Myers Squibb, AbbVie Ventures, Mission Bay Capital, Alexandria Venture Investments and Shionogi. For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.nitrasetx.com.

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