Our Journey

Noorik Biopharmaceuticals is a privately owned drug development company based in Basel, Switzerland. Noorik was built on the idea of addressing an unmet medical need and developing a new use for an existing drug. Our focus is research and development that impacts patients' lives. Our plan is to find the right commercialisation partner to jointly transform our research into meaningful treatments for patients.

Board of directors

Mr. Elmar Schnee is Chairman of the Board of Noorik Biopharmaceuticals. From 2003 to 2011, Mr. Schnee held various positions at Merck KGaA. He joined Merck in 2003 as Managing Director of Merck Santé S.A.S. and was appointed as Deputy Member of the Executive Board responsible for the pharmaceuticals business in 2005. He became a Member of the Executive Board and General Partner of Merck KGaA in 2006, with responsibility for global pharmaceutical activities, and served in this position until 2011. Prior to Merck, Mr. Schnee held senior positions in strategy, business development and marketing at UCB SA, Sanofi-Synthélabo SA, Migliara/Kaplan Associates, Inc. and Fisons Pharmaceutical PLC. Mr. Schnee is a member of the board of directors of Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc, Santhera Pharmaceuticals and currently serves on the board of directors of several privately-held life sciences companies.

Iker Navarro, MD is CEO and Board Director of Noorik Biopharmaceuticals AG. He has worked in different clinical and drug safety roles at Roche, Genentech and Speedel (acquired by Novartis). Prior to founding Noorik, he was a consultant to biopharmaceutical companies.

Hans R. Brunner, MD, Board Director, is Professor Emeritus of Medicine at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. He has been at the forefront of research on the role of the renin-angiotensin system in blood pressure regulation. He was among the first medical practitioners to introduce the use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in the treatment of hypertension and congestive heart failure. Professor Brunner is considered a world expert in cardiovascular research.

Ernst Schweizer, PhD, Board Director, has more than 45 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. He studied chemistry and received his doctorate from the University of Stuttgart, Germany. After more than 20 years of research and development experience in Ciba/Ciba-Geigy, he became Chief Scientific & Technical Advisor for Ciba-Geigy and then Deputy Director of Worldwide Business Development and Licensing for Novartis. From 1997 to 1999 Ernst Schweizer was Deputy Head of Worldwide Business Development and licensing for Novartis. Ernst Schweizer was Head of Business Development and board member at Genmab. He was the Vice-Chairman of Speedel and was responsible for the integration of Speedel in Novartis.

Bernd Umlauf, MD, Board Director, specialised in intensive care & abdominal surgery at Columbia Presbyterian University Hospital, New York. He subsequently trained in neurology, neurophysiology and neurosurgery at the Munich University Hospital. He was the Head of the Dept. of Clinical Neurophysiology, Munich University and lecturer in neurology. In 1983, he became Medical Director Germany for Squibb. He was Vice President Medical and Regulatory Affairs, BMS and Member of the B1 commission (Drug Advisory Board) for the German Health Authority for the therapeutic areas of angiology, cardiology and nephrology. Dr. Umlauf was Vice President for Medical Affairs Europe for Bristol-Myers-Squibb.