NRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: NRXP), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, and HOPE Therapeutics, Inc., a development stage medical and technology driven company and wholly owned subsidiary of NRx, today announced the appointment of Mr. Michael Taylor and Ms. Anita Nunes as Member and Observer of its Board of Directors, respectively. Ms. Nunes is also to be appointed to the Board of Directors of Hope Therapeutics, Inc.
Michael Taylor brings over 25 years of experience in global credit markets, with a focus on special situations and capital formation. He has served as Partner at the Adi Dassler International Family Office in Nassau, Bahamas, and as Managing Director at Oppenheimer & Co., where he specialized in complex debt structuring and multijurisdictional transactions. Prior to that, he spent eight years at Stone & Youngberg as Managing Director of Institutional Fixed Income Trading and Alternative Investments. Michael began his career as a Bond Trader at Morgan Stanley.
A graduate of the London School of Economics with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and International Relations, Michael has built a reputation for navigating complex financial environments and delivering innovative solutions. These skills will be integral to the growth of the HOPE clinic network. He joins NRx Pharmaceuticals as the Board Designee of Smith & Sauer, LLC, following the recently announced financing.
Anita Nunes, CEO and Co-Founder of Smith & Sauer, LLC, is an accomplished executive with more than 20 years of experience leading transformative growth across industries. She has driven investments in pioneering ventures, including Smith and Sauer’s recent $27 million investment in Hope Therapeutics and NRx Pharmaceuticals, where her leadership is advancing mental health care and pharmaceutical innovation.
Anita has a strong background in artificial intelligence, where she has led global initiatives to integrate AI-driven solutions, enabling businesses to achieve operational excellence and adapt to dynamic market demands. Her extensive healthcare expertise includes work with industry leaders McKesson and Gilead, where she was instrumental in managing strategic initiatives and fostering innovation.
In addition to her work at Smith & Sauer, Anita is the Founder of Mocktail Nation, a health-conscious beverage brand, and Pluzze Consulting, where she has provided strategic guidance to empower entrepreneurs and investors. Her ability to align financial strategies with impactful outcomes has positioned her as a leader in purpose-driven investments, delivering long-term value to stakeholders and society. She has served on multiple Boards of Directors and is recognized for her extensive expertise in healthcare, technology, and pharmaceuticals.
About NRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
NRx Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutics based on its NMDA platform for the treatment of central nervous system disorders, specifically suicidal bipolar depression, chronic pain, and PTSD. The Company is developing NRX-101, an FDA-designated investigational Breakthrough Therapy for suicidal treatment-resistant bipolar depression and chronic pain. NRx plans to file an NDA for Accelerated Approval for NRX-101 in patients with bipolar depression and suicidality or akathisia. NRX-101 additionally has potential to act as a non-opioid treatment for chronic pain, as well as a treatment for complicated UTI.
NRx has recently announced initiation of filing a New Drug Application for NRX-100 (IV ketamine) for the treatment of suicidal depression, based on results of well-controlled clinical trials conducted under the auspices of the US National Institutes of Health and newly obtained data from French health authorities, licensed under a data sharing agreement. NRx was awarded Fast Track Designation for development of ketamine (NRX-100) by the US FDA as part of a protocol to treat patients with acute suicidality.
About HOPE Therapeutics, Inc.
HOPE Therapeutics, Inc. (www.hopetherapeutics.com) is a development stage healthcare delivery company that intends to develop a best-in-class network of interventional psychiatry clinics to offer ketamine transcranial magnetics stimulation (TMS) and other lifesaving therapies to patients with suicidal depression and related disorders, together with a digital therapeutic-enabled platform designed to augment and preserve the clinical benefit of NMDA-targeted drug therapy.