Mentari Therapeutics Appoints Former Avadel CEO Greg Divis to Lead Migraine Pipeline Toward Regulatory Filings
核心洞察
Mentari Therapeutics (搜索) has named Greg Divis, former Avadel CEO, as its new chief executive officer effective July 20, 2026.
Divis brings over 30 years of industry experience, including leading Avadel through FDA approval and commercial launch of Lumryz and its $2.4 billion acquisition by Alkermes.
Mentari is advancing two migraine (搜索) prevention candidates: MT-001, an anti-PACAP (搜索) monoclonal antibody with regulatory filings expected mid-year 2026, and MT-002, an anti-PACAP/anti-CGRP bispecific antibody with filings planned for Q1 2027.
Mentari Therapeutics (搜索), a privately held biotechnology company based in Waltham, Massachusetts, has appointed biotech industry veteran Greg Divis as chief executive officer and a member of its board of directors, effective July 20, 2026. The leadership change positions the company to advance two migraine (搜索) prevention therapies through clinical development and toward anticipated regulatory milestones.
Divis most recently served as CEO of Avadel Pharmaceuticals, where he oversaw the development, U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval, and commercial launch of Lumryz (sodium oxybate) for narcolepsy (搜索). During his tenure, Avadel transformed from a development-stage biotechnology company into a fully integrated commercial organization before its sale to Alkermes in a transaction valued at up to $2.4 billion.
"Mentari's approach to migraine (搜索) prevention, initially targeting the complementary and validated PACAP (搜索) and CGRP pathways, represents an opportunity to deliver enhanced migraine relief for patients who continue to suffer with the current standard of care," Divis said. He added that MT-002's subcutaneous delivery and the company's broader pipeline create opportunities to develop next-generation combination therapies aimed at improving outcomes for patients with migraine.
Pipeline Targets Unmet Need in Migraine (搜索) Prevention
Mentari is developing therapies for the prevention of migraine (搜索), a neurological condition that affects more than 1 billion people worldwide. The company's pipeline focuses on the pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP (搜索)) pathway, a recently validated target that operates independently of the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) pathway. While CGRP-targeted therapies have achieved clinical and commercial success, a significant segment of patients continues to experience incomplete responses, creating demand for alternative and complementary mechanisms.
The company's lead candidate, MT-001, is an anti-PACAP (搜索) monoclonal antibody designed for convenient subcutaneous administration. MT-002, the company's second candidate, is an anti-PACAP and anti-CGRP bispecific antibody designed to inhibit both complementary pathways in a single therapy, with potential to deliver superior outcomes for people with incomplete response to CGRP-targeted treatments.
Regulatory Timeline Taking Shape
Mentari said it remains on track to make regulatory filings supporting the advancement of MT-001 during mid-year 2026 and MT-002 in the first quarter of 2027. Both candidates were discovered by Paragon Therapeutics (搜索).
Julianne Bruno, chair of Mentari's board of directors and a Growth Partner at Fairmount, emphasized Divis's suitability for the role. "Greg brings proven experience to Mentari during its foundational period of growth. He is the ideal choice to lead as we rapidly advance MT-001 and MT-002 through clinical development and position Mentari as a leader in migraine (搜索) prevention," Bruno said. "His experience successfully commercializing Lumryz and delivering on the acquisition by Alkermes demonstrates his ability to build shareholder value while also delivering meaningful therapies for patients."
Leadership Experience Spanning Three Decades
Divis brings more than three decades of pharmaceutical and biotechnology leadership experience to Mentari. Before Avadel, he served as an operating partner at Linden Capital Partners, president and chief executive officer of Lumara Health, president of Ther-Rx Corporation, and held leadership roles at Sanofi-Aventis, now Sanofi, and Schering-Plough, now part of Merck & Co.
As competition intensifies in the migraine (搜索) space, companies are increasingly pursuing differentiated biological mechanisms and combination strategies to improve efficacy while maintaining convenient dosing for patients. Mentari's dual-pathway approach with MT-002, targeting both PACAP (搜索) and CGRP, represents one such strategy aimed at delivering more durable symptom control for the substantial population of patients inadequately served by existing therapies.