Medincell Appoints Edna Venneker, MD, as Chief Medical Officer
核心洞察
Medincell (搜索), a clinical- and commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company developing long-acting injectable treatments, has appointed Edna Venneker, MD, as its new Chief Medical Officer.
Venneker most recently served as Head of Development and Senior Vice President at Grünenthal, bringing deep expertise in neuroscience and CNS disorders.
Her experience spans small molecules, biologics, vaccines, and advanced therapies, with direct interactions with the FDA, EMA, and PMDA across the drug development lifecycle.
Medincell (搜索) (Euronext: MEDCL), a clinical- and commercial-stage biopharmaceutical licensing company developing long-acting injectable treatments across multiple therapeutic areas, has announced the appointment of Edna Venneker, MD, as Chief Medical Officer. Venneker brings extensive international experience in drug development, spanning non-clinical and clinical strategy, regulatory affairs, program execution, and portfolio decision-making.
Most recently, Venneker served as Head of Development and Senior Vice President at Grünenthal, where she oversaw clinical development, clinical operations, CMC, data science including pharmacometrics and Advanced Analytics. She also served as Deputy Chief Medical Officer and as a member of the R&D Leadership Team and the R&D Portfolio Board.
A Cross-Functional Leadership Role
Throughout her career, Venneker has led global, cross-functional development programs, advised biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies on development and regulatory strategies, and interacted directly with the FDA, EMA and PMDA across the drug development lifecycle. Her experience covers a broad range of therapeutic areas and product types, including small molecules, biologics, vaccines and advanced therapies.
"For long-acting injectable medicines, medical and regulatory strategy must be embedded from the very beginning of product design. Even more so than for conventional daily medicines, their development requires the close and simultaneous integration of clinical need, pharmacology, formulation, manufacturing, usability and regulatory considerations. This makes the role of the Chief Medical Officer both central and highly cross-functional," said Edna Venneker, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Medincell (搜索).
Venneker added, "I look forward to working with Medincell (搜索)'s teams and with its current and prospective partners to evaluate opportunities, shape differentiated target product profiles and identify the most appropriate and efficient development and regulatory pathway for each program. Medincell's technology creates the opportunity to rethink how proven medicines can address important unmet needs, and I am excited to help translate that potential into meaningful new treatment options for patients."
Strategic Significance for Medincell
Christophe Douat, Chief Executive Officer of Medincell (搜索), commented on the appointment: "Edna combines strategic vision with deep, hands-on experience across the full development lifecycle. Her ability to connect medical ambition, product design, regulatory strategy and execution will be invaluable as we expand our portfolio and deepen our collaborations with pharmaceutical partners."
Douat further noted that Venneker "joins Medincell (搜索) at a pivotal stage, when our technology and growing development experience give us the opportunity to build the next generation of long-acting medicines. Her appointment strengthens our ability to select the most promising opportunities, reduce development risk and create sustainable value for patients, partners and shareholders."
Background and Experience
Before joining Medincell (搜索), Venneker was Head of Development and Senior Vice President at Grünenthal, where she led functions spanning clinical development, clinical operations, CMC, data science and Pharmacometrics and Advanced Analytics. She previously served as Global Program Lead and Vice President at Grünenthal, with strategic and operational responsibility for a global Phase III development program and its cross-functional team.
Earlier in her career, she co-founded and served as Senior Partner of Afforce Healthcare, advising biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies on drug development, clinical development, medical affairs and regulatory strategy. She also acted as Chief Medical Officer and development leader for several biotechnology companies and programs, supporting projects from non-clinical development through clinical studies and regulatory submissions. Her previous positions include roles at Mundipharma Research, Pharming and Yamanouchi Europe, now Astellas. Venneker holds a medical degree from the Radboud University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands.
Medincell's Long-Acting Injectable Platform
Medincell (搜索) develops and licenses long-acting injectable treatments that combine active pharmaceutical ingredients with its proprietary BEPO® / BEPO® Star technologies, enabling controlled drug delivery at therapeutic levels for several days, weeks, or months following a subcutaneous or local injection of a small, fully bioresorbable depot.
Risperidone LAI (搜索) was the first treatment based on BEPO® technology to receive FDA approval, initially for schizophrenia (搜索) in April 2023 (one- and two-month dosing), and subsequently for Bipolar I Disorder (搜索) in October 2025 (one-month dosing). It is marketed in the United States by Teva (搜索) under the brand name UZEDY®.
A New Drug Application (NDA) for Olanzapine LAI (搜索) as a once-monthly treatment for schizophrenia (搜索) in adults was submitted to the U.S. FDA in December 2025 by Medincell (搜索)'s partner, Teva (搜索). The U.S. FDA accepted Teva's New NDA for Olanzapine LAI on February 20, 2026, and a European Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) was also accepted by the EMA in May 2026.
Headquartered in Montpellier, France, Medincell (搜索) employs over 150 people representing more than 27 nationalities.