Topadur Pharma AG Adds Senior Board Expertise with Appointment of Dr. Felix R. Ehrat and Dr. Peter Jager
Zürich, Switzerland, May 28, 2026 – Topadur Pharma AG, a Swiss clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, today announced that Dr. Felix R. Ehrat and Dr. Peter Jager have been elected to its Board of Directors at the company’s Annual General Meeting. Both join the Board with immediate effect.
The appointments add deep strategic and industry expertise at a key moment for Topadur, as the company advances its clinical programs and prepares for its next stage of growth. Topadur’s lead asset, TOP-N53, is currently in Phase 2a clinical development for digital ulcers in systemic sclerosis, while its second lead asset, TOP-M119, is being prepared for clinical entry in alopecia.
“We are pleased to welcome Felix and Peter to Topadur’s Board,” said Dr. Reto Naef, Founder and President of the Board at Topadur Pharma AG. “Their experience is highly relevant to Topadur’s current priorities: advancing a differentiated platform and clinical-stage pipeline while preparing for future value-creation opportunities. Felix brings deep governance and capital markets expertise from major pharmaceutical and corporate transactions, while Peter adds global pharmaceutical leadership as well as biotech partnering and financing experience. Together, they significantly enhance the Board’s expertise at an important stage of Topadur’s development.”
Felix R. Ehrat brings almost four decades of experience in corporate law, M&A, governance, and capital markets transactions. He served as Group General Counsel and Member of the Executive Committee of Novartis from 2011 to 2018. In this role, he oversaw the legal and regulatory aspects of major capital markets and corporate transactions of around USD 100 billion in transactional value. Prior to Novartis, he was Senior Partner and Executive Chairman of Bär & Karrer, one of Switzerland’s leading business law firms. Felix R. Ehrat has significant experience as a Board and committee member of listed and non-listed Swiss and international companies; he currently serves, inter alia, on the Board of Geberit (SMI), as Chairman of Globalance Bank and Swiss Fintech/Loanboox. He holds a doctorate in law from the University of Zurich and an LL.M. from McGeorge School of Law, USA, and was named to the Financial Times Global General Counsel 30 in 2016.
“Topadur stands at a significant inflection point, with a differentiated science platform and an advancing pipeline. I look forward to supporting the company as it prepares for future strategic and financing opportunities,” said Felix R. Ehrat.
Peter Jager brings extensive global pharmaceutical leadership and a track record of supporting biotech companies through capital markets transactions. Over a career at Sandoz, Novartis, and Sanofi, he held senior international roles including Country President for the Netherlands, Thailand, and South Korea, Head of Global Sales Excellence at Novartis Pharma, and Senior Advisor for Government Relations at Novartis International, reporting to the CEO. Since founding the advisory firm CenseoVentures GmbH in 2016, he has supported life science companies with strategy, partnering, and financing, and has accompanied two successful biotech IPOs on the Swiss Exchange. Peter Jager holds a PharmD in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of Amsterdam and completed executive programs at IMD and Harvard Business School.
“Topadur has built an impressive pipeline addressing significant unmet medical needs. Drawing on three decades of leadership in global pharma and direct experience supporting biotech companies on their journey to public markets, I look forward to contributing to Topadur’s commercial strategy and capital markets readiness,” said Peter Jager.
Dr. Dominik Escher and Cornelia Gehrig did not stand for re-election. The Board of Directors and the management of Topadur thank Dominik Escher and Cornelia Gehrig for their many years of valuable service as members of the Board of Directors.
Reto Naef added: “I would like to thank Dominik and Cornelia sincerely for their commitment and contributions to Topadur over the past years. Their support has been important to where the company stands today.”