GH Research names Vanina Popova as chief development officer

DUBLIN - GH Research PLC has appointed Vanina Popova as their Chief Development Officer. She will spearhead the clinical development of GH001, a mebufotenin therapy for treatment-resistant depression and postpartum depression programs. Popova, who has over 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical research and development, spent 12 years at Johnson & Johnson in global clinical operations before moving into clinical development.

At Johnson & Johnson, she led the Spravato (esketamine) program, including TRANSFORM-2, a pivotal Phase 3 trial that supported the drug's approval in treatment-resistant depression. Popova was also the lead author of the trial publication in The American Journal of Psychiatry. Dr. Velichka Valcheva, CEO of GH Research, expressed her pleasure at appointing Popova, praising her extensive experience and insight from late-stage clinical development in treatment-resistant depression.

Popova emphasized her dedication to bringing new treatments to those suffering from depression, noting that many patients still do not benefit from the available options. GH Research is developing GH001, a mebufotenin therapy administered via inhalation, as part of their clinical-stage biopharmaceutical efforts.