Polyneuron Adds Polyphor’s Debra Barker as Chief Medical Officer

Polyneuron Pharmaceuticals, a Swiss biotech that is developing a new class of biodegradable glycopolymers for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, has appointed Debra Barker as its chief medical officer. Most recently Barker was chief medical and development officer at Polyphor, which she left for personal reasons at the end of 2018. Her previous experience includes roles at Novartis (NYSE: [[ticker:NVS]]) and Roche.

Basel, Switzerland-based Polyneuron plans to start human tests of its lead compound, an investigational treatment for a rare autoimmune variety of peripheral neuropathy called anti-MAG neuropathy, this year.

Author: Sarah de Crescenzo

Sarah is Xconomy's San Diego-based editor. Prior to joining the team in 2018, she wrote about startups, tech and finance at the San Diego Business Journal. Her decade of full-time news experience includes coverage of subjects including campaign finance, crime and courts as a reporter and editor at outlets throughout California, including the Orange County Register. She earned a bachelor's degree in English Literature at UC San Diego, where she wrote for the student newspaper and played collegiate lacrosse. In 2019, she earned an MBA at UC Irvine. View all posts by Sarah de Crescenzo