Newsletter

About us

Relief Therapeutics is a Swiss, commercial - stage biopharmaceutical company, developing and commercializing novel, patent - protect products in selected specialty, rare and ultra-rare diseases.

We are currently focused on three therapeutic areas where we can best leverage our internal know-how and assets: rare metabolic disorders, rare pulmonary diseases, and rare connective tissue disorders, with particular emphasis on conditions with dermatological manifestations. We also leverage our internal research and development capabilities to identify, develop and commercialize repurposed drugs with proven safety and efficacy.

Our diversified pipeline consists of assets that have the potential to effectively address significant unmet medical needs, including PKU GOLIKE®, engineered with the proprietary Physiomimic™ technology, which is the first prolonged-release amino acid product commercialized for the dietary management of phenylketonuria (PKU). Relief Therapeutics has a collaboration and license agreement with Acer Therapeutics for the worldwide development and commercialization of Olpruva™ (sodium phenylbutyrate) for the treatment of various inborn errors of metabolism, including urea cycle disorders (UCDs) and maple syrup urine disease(MSUD). Relief Therapeutics also continues to develop RLF-100® (aviptadil) for several rare pulmonary indications including pulmonary sarcoidosis, checkpoint inhibitor-induced pneumonitis, non-COVID-19-related acute respiratory distress syndrome, and chronic berylliosis. Relief Therapeutics continues to develop RLF-TD011, a differentiated acid oxidizing solution of hypochlorous acid intended for the treatment of epidermolysis bullosa, an indication for which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug designation. Relief Therapeutics is also exploring the clinical development of RLF-TD011 for the treatment of cutaneous t-cell lymphomas. In addition, Relief Therapeutics is commercializing several legacy products via licensing and distribution partners.

Founded in 2013 by three former Merck employees, Relief Therapeutics embarked on a mission to develop atexakin alfa – a human recombinant version of interleukin-6 aimed at treating peripheral neuropathy. Since its inception, the Company has not only advanced its proprietary asset RLF-100™ into clinical development but also broadened its portfolio and drug pipeline. This expansion has been fueled by strategic moves such as a collaboration and license agreement with Acer Therapeutics Inc. and the pivotal acquisition of APR Applied Pharma Research in 2021.

Additional details on our product portfolio can be found on the pipeline page  of our website.

Management

Relief’s management team strategy is to maintain a lean internal structure and a series of collaborations with contract research organizations, contract manufacturers, external distributors and contract sales forces, national clinical networks, and relevant worldwide experts.
  • Christopher Wick

    Michelle Lock

    Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board of Directors

    Michelle Lock is Relief’s Interim Chief Executive Officer and a member of Relief’s Board of Directors. She has nearly 30 years of biopharmaceutical strategic, operational and commercialization experience.

    Paolo Galfetti
  • Michelle Lock

    Paolo Galfetti

    Chief Operating Officer

    Paolo Galfetti is Chief Operating Officer. He has over 20 years of management experience in the pharmaceutical sector, including in the areas of business development and licensing, operational strategic management, clinical research, and pharmaceutical discovery and development. 

    Jeremy Meinen
  • Paolo Galfetti

    Jeremy Meinen

    Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

    Jeremy Meinen serves as chief financial officer and treasurer. Prior to joining Relief, Jeremy provided financial consulting and controlling services to companies in various industries. Jeremy is a Swiss certified public accountant.

    Christopher Wick
  • Jeremy Meinen

    Christopher Wick

    U.S. Country Lead

    Christopher Wick is Relief Therapeutics’ U.S. Country Lead and is responsible for leading company’s U.S. commercial and sales teams. Prior to joining Relief, Christopher held positions in sales of increasing responsibility at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis. where he developed and led high-performing, excellence award-winning teams and achieved best-in-the-nation sales for two rare disease products and consistently received top sales rankings.

    Michelle Lock

Board
of Directors

Relief is strongly supported by a highly knowledgeable Board of Directors with extensive experience in the healthcare industry and capital markets.

RAGHURAM SELVARAJU | Patrice P. Jean | TOM PLITZ | Michelle Lock
  • Michelle Lock

    Raghuram (Ram) Selvaraju, Ph.D, M.B.A.

    Chairman of the Board

    Raghuram (Ram) Selvaraju, Ph.D., MBA, is a Managing Director and Senior Healthcare Analyst in the Equity Research Division of H.C. Wainwright & Co., a New York-based full-service investment bank heavily focused on the healthcare sector. He has over 15 years of experience on Wall Street and previously was a pharmaceutical researcher at Serono in Switzerland. He holds Ph.D. and M.S. degrees from the University of Geneva and an M.B.A. from Cornell University.

    Tom Plitz
  • Raghuram (Ram) Selvaraju, Ph.D, M.B.A.

    Tom Plitz

    Member of the Board of Directors

    Tom Plitz recently served as Chief Executive Officer of Chord Therapeutics SA, a privately held biopharmaceutical firm based in Geneva, Switzerland, which was acquired by Merck KGaA in January 2022. He has more than two decades of R&D experience from senior management positions in the pharmaceutical industry.

    Patrice P. Jean, Ph.D., J.D.
  • Tom Plitz

    Patrice P. Jean, Ph.D., J.D.

    Member of the board of directors

    Patrice Jean is the Chair of the Life Sciences Practice at Hughes Hubbard & Reed, an international law firm based in New York City. She has over a decade of experience counselling leading and startup pharmaceutical, chemical and biotechnology companies in all areas of patent law, including asserting and defending patent rights underlying core technologies and innovations.

    Michelle Lock
  • Patrice P. Jean, Ph.D., J.D.

    Michelle Lock

    Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board of Directors

    Michelle Lock is Relief’s Interim Chief Executive Officer and a member of Relief’s Board of Directors. She has nearly 30 years of biopharmaceutical strategic, operational and commercialization experience.

    Raghuram (Ram) Selvaraju, Ph.D, M.B.A.

code of conduct

Code of Business Conduct and Ethics

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