Ovid Therapeutics Expands Leadership Team and Scientific Advisory Board

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Ovid Therapeutics Inc. (Ovid), a privately held biopharmaceutical
company focused on developing therapies for orphan diseases of the
brain, today announced the appointment of Amit Rakhit, M.D., M.B.A, as
Chief Medical & Portfolio Management Officer. Dr. Rakhit will lead
Ovid’s clinical efforts and oversee medical affairs and
commercialization of the Company’s therapeutic portfolio. Ovid also
announced the addition of Daniel H. Geschwind, M.D., Ph.D., to Ovid’s
Scientific Advisory Board (SAB).

“We welcome Dr. Rakhit and Dr. Geschwind to the Ovid team,” said Dr.
Jeremy Levin, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Ovid. “We are
building a company rooted in science and focused on developing important
medicines for neurodevelopmental disorders. Drs. Rakhit and Geschwind
bring to Ovid additional world-class expertise translating new
scientific discoveries in genetics and molecular pathways into novel
opportunities for drug development. Their leadership and insight will be
instrumental in advancing OV101, our lead product candidate for Angelman
Syndrome and Fragile X Syndrome, into clinical studies, as well as
expanding our knowledge and pipeline in the area of orphan diseases of
the brain.”

Prior to joining Ovid, Dr. Rakhit was Senior Vice President, Head of
Worldwide Medical at Biogen, leading the firm’s global medical teams,
with a focus on commercial launch activities and pipeline support for
disease areas including neurology, hematology, and immunology. He also
served as Vice President, Program Leadership & Management at Biogen,
running global development and commercialization programs focused on
orphan diseases and neurodegenerative disorders such as ALS and Spinal
Muscular Atrophy. Previously, Dr. Rakhit held leadership roles at
Bristol-Myers Squibb, including Director, Cardiovascular R&D, focused on
Plavix^™, and Executive Medical Director,
Cardiovascular/Metabolics – EMEA, in which role he oversaw European
medical activities for Plavix^™, Avapro ^™, Pravachol^™,
Coumadin^™, Onglyza^™, and Eliquis^™.
Attaining the role of Vice President, Intercontinental Medical, he was
ultimately responsible for business expansion and cross-portfolio R&D
efforts across 27 markets. Dr. Rakhit received his B.A. degree in
molecular cell biology from the University of California, Berkeley, and
his M.S. degree in clinical investigation from Vanderbilt University. He
also received his M.D. degree from Tufts University School of Medicine,
and dual M.B.A. degrees from Columbia University School of Business and
London Business School. Dr. Rakhit completed his fellowship training at
Boston Children’s Hospital affiliated with Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Rakhit stated, “Ovid is dedicated to leveraging recent scientific
advances to rapidly develop novel medicines for patients with rare and
orphan neurologic diseases. I am passionate about Ovid’s mission and
believe that the Company’s proven ability to forge partnerships across
diverse patient groups, caregivers, academic research centers, and
clinical investigators is a tremendous strength. I look forward to
advancing our pipeline and bringing potential new medicines to patients
in disease areas of significant unmet medical need.”

Dr. Geschwind recently was appointed Senior Associate Dean and Associate
Vice Chancellor of Precision Medicine in the UCLA Health System and
David Geffen School of Medicine. He is a Professor of Neurology and
Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the UCLA School of Medicine,
where he holds the Gordon and Virginia MacDonald Distinguished Chair in
Human Genetics. Dr. Geschwind is also the Director of the Center for
Autism Research and Treatment (CART) and Co-Director of the Center for
Neurobehavioral Genetics at UCLA. Dr. Geschwind’s laboratory has
pioneered the application of gene expression and network methods to
develop new therapeutics for neurologic and psychiatric disorders,
focusing on autism and neurodegenerative disorders, for which
disease-altering therapies are not currently available. Dr. Geschwind
also played a major role in the founding, and has provided continuing
scientific oversight, of the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange. He
received his A.B. degree in psychology and chemistry at Dartmouth
College, and M.D. and Ph.D. degrees at Yale University School of
Medicine. He completed a neurology residency at UCLA, joining the
faculty in 1997.

Dr. Geschwind commented, “Our field has benefitted from advances in
genetics combined with translational research in neurodevelopmental
disorders. This research has greatly expanded our understanding of the
biology of diseases in this area. The time is now ripe to develop novel
therapies for these indications. I am excited about Ovid’s work and hope
to contribute to their efforts to develop novel medicines.”

About Ovid Therapeutics Inc.

Ovid Therapeutics Inc. is a privately held, New York-based,
biopharmaceutical company committed to transforming the lives of
patients with orphan diseases of the brain. Ovid focuses on patients and
their unmet medical needs. Using the significant operational, product
development and business development experience of its management team,
Ovid aims to become a leading neurology company, with multiple products
and a rich pipeline, coupled with compelling research and development.
Ovid has raised $80M in substantially oversubscribed financings led by
Fidelity Management and Research Company and including Cowen Private
Investments, Sanofi-Genzyme BioVentures, Tekla Capital Management,
Sphera Global Healthcare Fund, Jennison Associates, Redmile Group,
DoubleLine Equity Healthcare Fund, and Cormorant Asset Management, as
well as additional blue chip mutual funds and leading life sciences
investors.

For more information on Ovid, please visit http://www.ovidrx.com.

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