Press release

Laure-Hélène Mercier Co-Opted as Chair of the Board of Directors of Poxel

LYON, France, the 3^rd of September – 6:00 pm CEST - POXEL SA (Euronext: POXEL - FR0012432516), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that has developed innovative treatments for serious chronic diseases with metabolic pathophysiology, including metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and rare metabolic diseases, announces the appointment of Laure-Hélène Mercier as Chair of the Board of Directors, effective September 3, 2026, to replace Sophie Jacq Lapointe.

This change in governance aims to strengthen the company’s financial oversight, enhance governance excellence, and foster dialogue with the market and shareholders, in parallel with the efforts led by Chief Executive Officer Yves Decadt to enhance the value of the Company’s assets.

The appointment of Laure-Hélène Mercier as a director will be submitted for ratification at the Company’s next Annual General Meeting.

In a particularly challenging financial environment, Sophie Jacq Lapointe played a key role in establishing the Company’s new governance structure. She actively contributed to defining the Company’s strategy and development plan and followed the various steps leading to the adoption and subsequent implementation of the Continuation Plan, which is currently being rolled out.

The Board of Directors would like to express its sincere gratitude to her for her unwavering commitment and her decisive contribution during this formative period for the Company.

PROFILE OF LAURE-HÉLÈNE MERCIER

Laure-Hélène Mercier, who holds an MSc in neuroscience from the University of Aix-Marseille, an MBA from ESSEC and an AMP from INSEAD, has over twenty years of experience in the biotechnology industry and financial markets.

After beginning her career as an equity analyst specializing in the pharmaceutical sector, she joined Innate Pharma in 2007, where she held various roles in investor relations, finance, and strategy. Notably, she served as Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Executive Board.

Sophie Jacq Lapointe, former Chair of Poxel’s Board of Directors, comments: “I would like to thank the members of the Board, as well as Poxel’s management, especially Nicolas Trouche and Yves Decadt, and more broadly, all of Poxel’s shareholders for the trust they have placed in me. I am proud to have been associated with the Company’s exit from receivership and to have thereby helped reshape its future prospects. Poxel is now on a path that should enable it to fully realize the potential of its clinical portfolio for the benefit of all stakeholders, foremost among whom are the patients. I have every confidence in Laure-Hélène Mercier’s ability to guide Poxel through this new phase, particularly thanks to her solid financial expertise and in-depth knowledge of the biotechnology sector. I am convinced that she will act in the best interests of the Company and all its shareholders.”

Laure-Hélène Mercier, Chair of Poxel’s Board of Directors, stated: “I am honored to join the company at this pivotal moment. Thanks to the work accomplished in recent months, Poxel now has the opportunity to rebuild on a stronger foundation. My priority will be to support rigorous financial management and ensure excellence in corporate governance, in a spirit of transparency toward the market and shareholders. I am convinced that a return to value creation depends first and foremost on discipline, credibility, and execution. It is on these foundations that I wish to contribute to the next chapter in the company’s development.”

About Poxel

Poxel is an international biopharmaceutical company at the commercialization and clinical development stages, specializing in the development of innovative treatments for serious chronic diseases with a metabolic aetiology, including rare metabolic diseases and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).

TWYMEEG® (Imeglimine), Poxel’s first product to target mitochondrial dysfunction, is marketed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in Japan by Sumitomo Pharma, and Poxel expects to receive royalties and sales-based payments. Poxel has entered a strategic partnership with Sumitomo Pharma for Imeglimine in Japan.

For the treatment of MASH, PXL065 (deuterium-stabilized R-pioglitazone) met its primary endpoint in a simplified Phase 2 trial (DESTINY-1).

PXL770, meanwhile, is focused on rare diseases, notably autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). On 31 March 2026, Poxel announced the sale of PXL770 to Scynexis for a total amount of up to $196 million. The company received an upfront payment of $8 million, to which short-term payments of up to $8 million linked to development milestones will be added, and payments of up to $180 million linked to commercial milestones. Scynexis will develop PXL 770 for its potential indications in ADPKD. Listed on Euronext Paris, Poxel is headquartered in Lyon, France, and has subsidiaries in Boston, MA, and Tokyo, Japan.

For further information, please visit: www.poxelpharma.com

All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release concerning future events are subject (i) to change without notice and (ii) to factors beyond the Company’s control. Such statements may include, but are not limited to, any statement preceded by, followed by or containing words such as ‘objective’, ‘believe’, ‘expect’, ‘aim’, ‘intend’, ‘may’, ‘anticipate’, ‘estimate’, ‘plan’, ‘project’, ‘will be’, ‘may have’, ‘probable’, ‘should’, ‘could’ and other words and terms of similar meaning, or the negative form of such words and terms. Forward-looking statements are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties beyond the company’s control which could cause the company’s actual results or performance to differ materially from the results or performance expected, expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Actual events or results may differ from those described in this document due to a number of risks or uncertainties described in the Company’s 2024 Universal Registration Document, available on the Company’s website and that of the AMF (https://www.amf-france.org/fr). The Company does not endorse or accept responsibility for the content of external hyperlinks mentioned in this press release.

Contacts – Investor Relations / Media

NewCap
Théo Martin / Alexandre Massias
investors@poxelpharma.com
+33 1 44 71 94 94