Our mission
Elkedonia is committed to introducing a pioneering, first-in-class antidepressant treatment with precision medicine.
Our ambition is to develop an innovative antidepressant treatment, that will be accessible to all patients, whatever their geographical location, age or comorbidities, fast-acting and free from risks of dependence, sedation or psychotic effects.
Our goal is to enable patients to rediscover the pleasures of life and significantly reduce the risks of suicide and relapse.
Our history
memory
of Elk-1 inhibition
on neuroplasticity
Elk-1 could act as
a therapeutic lever
program
antidepressants
This is Elkedonia
Elkedonia is focused on developing a safe, well-tolerated and effective therapy for depression, ensuring it is accessible to every patient in need.
We are pioneers
Elkedonia is leading a pioneering approach in antidepressant therapy. We are focusing on an innovative target, within neurons, in key brain circuits. Rather than acting at the synapse like all other antidepressants, our approach targets intracellular events and neuroplasticity, precisely targeting a highly selective signaling pathway.
Committed
A team of dedicated and unique people
Our values – Innovation, Commitment, Ambition and REsilience – come together to form our credo: ‘I CARE’, reflecting our desire to make a significant difference in patients’ lives.
Redefining relief with a breakthrough antidepressant for all patients
Evidence from both patient studies and preclinical research supports the role of our target in depression pathophysiology. Inhibiting its activity is expected to provide rapid and long-lasting relief for all patients. Our ambition is to act on key brain circuits to rewire resilience and bring patients new levels of relief.
Learning and adapting to move forward
We see beyond challenges, identifying ways to turn them into opportunities. This approach is key in R&D for complex disorders, like mental health disorders. Driven by our passion to contribute to the bigger picture, we keep an open mind to advance innovation.
Follow our latest updates, breakthroughs and ideas on Elkedonia’s LinkedIn page.
Meet our team
We believe that great breakthroughs are born from the collaboration of passionate minds. Together, we transform biotechnological innovations into tangible solutions for tomorrow.
Delphine Charvin, PhD
Chief Executive Officer
& Co-Founder
Delphine brings her entrepreneurial experience in biotech creation, fundraising and scale-up, alongside cross-functional expertise in drug discovery and clinical development within both startup and pharma environments. Delphine thrives on breaking boundaries, challenging conventions and reimagining possibilities. Her patient-first approach and dedication to fostering a purpose-driven team drives Elkedonia to deliver life-changing therapies.
Delphine Charvin, PhD
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder
Delphine Charvin is an experienced drug developer, scientist and entrepreneur in neurological diseases. She brings two decades of experience from senior leadership and managerial positions in international pharmaceutical, biotech and start-up companies, including Addex Pharmaceuticals, Merck-Serono, Prexton Therapeutics, Lundbeck and Stalicla. As the Chief Scientific Officer of Prexton, she developed a program from lead identification up to clinical phase II and played a crucial role in the company development since inception, then series A and series B fundraising, and finally in the successful exit with the acquisition of the company by Lundbeck.
Prior to Elkedonia, Delphine was the Operating Partner of the startup studio Argobio. She has contributed to the set-up of a neurology franchise within the Studio and, together with Mélanie Rouillier, Yves Ribeill and Jocelyne Caboche, she developed the Elkedonia project from preincubation to NewCo creation. Delphine has 15 years of experience working with startups, biotechs, pharma companies and VCs. Over the past 10 years, she has held co-founding and managerial positions in drug discovery and clinical development companies that have raised over €150 million.
Delphine holds a PhD in Neuroscience from Paris VI Sorbonne University, France, a post-doctorate from Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, and a Finance certification from INSEAD.
Mélanie Rouillier, MSc
VP, Operations and Project Management & Co-Founder
Mélanie brings deep expertise in technology platforms, pharmacology, drug discovery and project management. She plays a key role in guiding Elkedonia’s strategic execution. Driven by a passion for making a tangible impact on patients' lives, she is committed to fostering operational excellence, and advancing innovation closer to patients.
Mélanie Rouillier, MSc
VP, Operations and Project Management & Co-Founder
Mélanie Rouillier brings over 15 years of experience in project management and drug development in international and multi-cultural environments. She was previously Senior Project Coordinator at Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), where she managed more than 30 projects in a virtual public/private partnership setting, and then Scientific Project Manager at Argobio Studio. Prior to that, Mélanie was an Associate Scientist at Addex Therapeutics, where she gained expertise in in vitro pharmacology, HTS and drug discovery and development. Over the past 15 years, Mélanie has managed R&D activities ranging from target validation to IND filing for innovative small molecules targeting CNS and infectious diseases. She brings knowledge in technology platforms, in vitro pharmacology, high-thoughput screening, drug discovery, as well as strong communication and collaboration skills.
Mélanie holds an Engineer diploma, MSc in biotechnology from Ecole Supérieure de Biotechnologie de Strasbourg (ESBS), France, a Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification, and a Clinical Research Associate (CRA) degree.
Serge Mignani, PhD
Head of Medicinal Chemistry
Serge brings long-standing and deep expertise in medicinal chemistry, with a proven track record of transforming challenging molecular ideas into clinical candidates. His deep knowledge across diverse molecular classes, mechanisms of action, and therapeutic areas -including neurology- has already led to life-changing drugs, now commercialized. With Serge on board, we're accelerating innovation toward a groundbreaking antidepressant.
Serge Mignani, PhD
Head of Medicinal Chemistry
Serge Mignani has over 30 years’ experience in R&D at Sanofi (previously Rhône‐Poulenc). He was Head of the Medicinal Chemistry Department and Scientific Director across multiple therapeutic areas such as neurology, depression, anxiety, cancer and infectious diseases leading to several clinical candidates.
Serge is the author of more than 200 publications and 110 patents. More than 75 invited plenary lectures and conferences have been presented. Serge is the author of five book chapters in the medicinal chemistry realm.
Serge was nominated as National Representative from France to the IUPAC Division of Chemistry and Human Health, at LabEX ERMIT and SATT (‘Sociétés d’accélération des transferts de technologies) as a Medicinal Chemistry expert, as advisor at the Donghua University in Shanghai, China, and as Full Professor at the ‘Centro de Quimica da Madeira’, University of Madeira in Fungal, Portugal.
Serge holds a Ph.D from Louvain-la‐Neuve University, Belgium, and a post-doctorate from the University of Madison, USA.
Jocelyne Caboche, PhD
President of the Scientific Advisory Board & Co-Founder
Jocelyne Caboche is a world-renowned researcher specializing in intracellular signaling events involved in neuronal plasticity. She unraveled the role of Elk1 in brain processes and its involvement in neurological dysfunctions, including depression and addiction. As a scientific advisor, Jocelyne shares her expertise to guide the Elkedonia team in developing innovative treatments for patients.
Jocelyne Caboche, PhD
President of the Scientific Advisory Board & Co-Founder
Jocelyne has three decades of experience as a Research Director in Neurosciences in the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). She is specialized in cellular and molecular processes that govern neuronal plasticity in the brain, with a particular focus on the MAPKinase/ERK signaling pathway, and downstream genetic and epigenetic remodeling of long-term neuronal properties. Her academic team pioneered the discovery of Elk-1 expression and regulation in physiological (learning and memory) and pathophysiological conditions (psychiatric disorders).
Jocelyne was the Director of the Institute of Biology at the University Pierre and Marie Curie (Paris) from 2007 to 2014. She published 140 scientific articles and reviews, in peer-reviewed journals, with more that 11’000 citations and 7 patents.
For her work on Elk1, Jocelyne was awarded the Marcel Dassault / Fondation Fondamental prize for Innovation in Psychiatry in 2023.
Delphine Charvin, PhD
Chief Executive Officer
& Co-Founder
Delphine brings her entrepreneurial experience in biotech creation, fundraising and scale-up, alongside cross-functional expertise in drug discovery and clinical development within both startup and pharma environments. Delphine thrives on breaking boundaries, challenging conventions and reimagining possibilities. Her patient-first approach and dedication to fostering a purpose-driven team drives Elkedonia to deliver life-changing therapies.
Delphine Charvin, PhD
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder
Delphine Charvin is an experienced drug developer, scientist and entrepreneur in neurological diseases. She brings two decades of experience from senior leadership and managerial positions in international pharmaceutical, biotech and start-up companies, including Addex Pharmaceuticals, Merck-Serono, Prexton Therapeutics, Lundbeck and Stalicla. As the Chief Scientific Officer of Prexton, she developed a program from lead identification up to clinical phase II and played a crucial role in the company development since inception, then series A and series B fundraising, and finally in the successful exit with the acquisition of the company by Lundbeck.
Prior to Elkedonia, Delphine was the Operating Partner of the startup studio Argobio. She has contributed to the set-up of a neurology franchise within the Studio and, together with Mélanie Rouillier, Yves Ribeill and Jocelyne Caboche, she developed the Elkedonia project from preincubation to NewCo creation. Delphine has 15 years of experience working with startups, biotechs, pharma companies and VCs. Over the past 10 years, she has held co-founding and managerial positions in drug discovery and clinical development companies that have raised over €150 million.
Delphine holds a PhD in Neuroscience from Paris VI Sorbonne University, France, a post-doctorate from Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, and a Finance certification from INSEAD.
Yves Ribeill
Executive Director
Yves Ribeill founded Scynexis, Inc (NASDAQ: SCYX) and served as its Chairman and CEO from 1999 to 2015. Prior to Scynexis, Inc., Dr. Ribeill served various positions during the 25 years of his international career with Rhone-Poulenc, Aventis. He was involved in discovery and development effort that resulted in the FDA approval of multiple drugs. He has also been a Director of various Biotech companies in Europe and the US.
Yves Ribeill
Executive Director
NC
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