Coave Therapeutics Strengthens Leadership Team to Advance Lead Gene Therapy Program into the Clinic
Senior appointments add world-class expertise across gene therapy development, ophthalmology, CMC, regulatory affairs
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Senior appointments add world-class expertise across gene therapy development, ophthalmology, CMC, regulatory affairs and global operations to support the next phase of growth
- Carl De Luca, PhD, appointed Chief Technology Officer, bringing over 20 years of leadership in CMC, technical development and manufacturing across biologics and gene therapies, from clinical to commercial grade programs
- Nora Dimon, MD, FEBO, appointed Vice President of Clinical Development, bringing more than 20 years of leadership in clinical development and medical affairs across ophthalmology and retinal diseases, with expertise spanning multiple therapeutic modalities including gene therapy
- Annelise Brossel appointed VP Regulatory and Translational Sciences, bringing 25 years of global regulatory affairs and quality leadership across gene therapies, biologics and rare diseases, including multiple AAV programs
- Veronica Ferrer, PhD, appointed VP Global Operations, bringing nearly 20 years of clinical development experience leading CMC, analytical development and cross-functional execution of global AAV gene therapy programs
PARIS, France – 16 September 2026: Coave Therapeutics (“Coave”), a company redefining ocular gene therapy with a best-in-class pipeline powered by ligand-conjugated vectors, today announces the appointments of four senior executives to its leadership team as it advances its lead retinal program, CoTx-101, toward clinical development and expands its ocular gene therapy pipeline.
Collectively, the appointments bring decades of experience spanning gene therapy development, ophthalmology, CMC, regulatory strategy and global operations, strengthening Coave’s leadership team as it prepares for clinical development.
Rodolphe Clerval, CEO of Coave Therapeutics, commented: “This is an important milestone for Coave as we continue to build the capabilities needed to translate our science into clinical impact. With CoTx-101 moving closer to the clinic and the expansion of our pipeline to broader retinal diseases, these appointments bring the expertise and experience needed to execute our strategy.
“Carl, Nora, Annelise and Veronica have each played key roles in advancing innovative gene therapy programs from early stage through to clinical development. Their complementary expertise will be instrumental in driving our next phase of growth and in bringing transformative precision gene therapies to patients.”
Carl De Luca, PhD, Chief Technology Officer
Carl De Luca brings over 20 years of pharmaceutical industry experience spanning CMC development, technical operations, and program leadership across biologics and gene therapies, with particular expertise in ophthalmic AAV programs. He joins from Orchard Therapeutics, where he served as Vice President of Technical Development and Global CMC Project Management, leading technical development strategy for cell and gene therapy programs.
Prior to Orchard, Carl spent over a decade at Novartis, where he held a number of senior roles including Program Head for Enabling Technologies in Cell and Gene Therapy, and Technical Project Leader specializing in AAV gene therapies for ophthalmic indications. His experience spans early-phase development through commercial development, providing deep expertise in the technical, manufacturing and regulatory requirements needed to successfully bring gene therapies to patients.
Carl holds a PhD in Biochemistry from Queen’s University in Canada and completed postdoctoral research at ETH Zurich.
Nora Dimon, MD FEBO, Vice President of Clinical Development
Dr. Nora Dimon brings more than two decades of leadership across clinical development, medical affairs, and regulatory strategy in ophthalmology and retinal diseases to Coave. She joins the Company from ADARx Pharmaceuticals, where she served as Executive Director of Clinical Development, spearheading clinical strategy and regulatory interactions. Prior to ADARx, she held senior clinical development positions at Ocular Therapeutix, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Ocugen, designing and executing clinical trials for ophthalmology programs.
Beyond her industry experience, Dr. Dimon maintains an active clinical participation as an Adjunct Retina Specialist at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, providing firsthand insight into the development of retinal therapies. She previously served as Senior Clinical Fellow and Locum Consultant at St. Thomas’ Hospital London, and completed clinical and research fellowships at Harvard Medical School and the University of Bristol focused on vitreoretinal diseases, and translational medicine.
Dr. Dimon holds MD degrees from Albert-Ludwigs University Freiburg in Germany and Fudan University Medical College in China.
Annelise Brossel, Vice President of Regulatory and Translational Science
Annelise Brossel brings 25 years of regulatory affairs and quality assurance experience in biologics, gene therapies and rare diseases across early- to clinical-stage development. She joins Coave from Vivet Therapeutics, where she served as Director of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance, leading global regulatory strategy across a portfolio of orphan metabolic disease and AAV-based gene therapy programs. In that role, she coordinated IND and CTA submissions in both the US and Europe, secured multiple orphan drug designations and a Fast Track designation from the FDA, and led interactions with regulatory agencies including the FDA, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and national EU authorities.
Earlier in her career, Annelise held senior regulatory roles at GenSight Biologics, where she contributed to the regulatory strategy for an AAV-based gene therapy for Leber hereditary optic neuropathy through Phase III and pre-marketing authorization application, and at LFB and Baxter, where she built extensive regulatory expertise across biologics and plasma-derived products. She holds a Diploma of Pharmacy and a Master’s in International Drug Development and Registration from Paris-Sud University.
Veronica Ferrer, PhD, Vice President of Global Operations
Veronica Ferrer brings nearly 20 years of experience in the development of advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs), with deep expertise in CMC, analytical development and global operational leadership of AAV-based gene therapy programs. She joins Coave from Vivet Therapeutics, where she served as Global Project Leader, overseeing the development of two programs to Phase I and Phase II clinical trials. In this role, she led cross-functional teams across nonclinical, CMC, clinical, regulatory and quality functions, while supporting strategic decision-making, due diligence and partnership activities.
Previously, Veronica held an analytics leadership role at Pfizer, where she led the implementation of analytical tools for AAV-based gene therapy manufacturing. She also held research and quality control roles at University College London’s Wolfson Gene Therapy Unit, where she supervised GMP manufacturing and characterization of AAV-based products. Veronica holds a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology and Neurosciences from Universidad de Chile and University College London.
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About Coave Therapeutics
Starting with ophthalmology, Coave Therapeutics is redefining targeted gene therapy by solving its most critical challenge: delivery. The Company is pioneering first-in-class ligand-conjugated AAVs, enabling precision vectors that are highly tissue specific, precisely delivered and safer than traditional approaches.
Through this targeted gene therapy approach, Coave has created the first suprachoroidal vector, which has the potential to transform the treatment of retinal diseases such as neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD/wAMD). Coave is advancing its lead program, CoTx-101, towards clinical development, with the goal of delivering a best-in-class, safe and convenient treatment that frees patients from the burden of frequent injections while providing durable vision gains.
Headquartered in Paris, France, Coave Therapeutics is backed by leading international life sciences investors. For more information please visit www.coavetx.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
For more information about Coave Therapeutics, please contact:
Coave Therapeutics
contact@coavetx.com
ICR Healthcare
Amber Fennell, Stephanie Cuthbert
coavetx@icrhealthcare.com
