Dr. Werber will join Cowen and Company as Managing Director and Senior Biotechnology Analyst
effective September 24, 2018

Ovid has initiated a search to select a new CFO

NEW YORK, Sept. 04, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ovid Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: OVID), a biopharmaceutical company committed to developing medicines that transform the lives of people with rare neurological diseases, today announced that Yaron Werber, M.D., chief business and financial officer, will leave the company effective Friday, September 21, 2018. Dr. Werber joined Ovid as chief financial officer in June 2015 after nearly 15 years of experience as a highly-ranked biotechnology research analyst at marquee Wall Street firms. Dr. Werber will return to Wall Street as managing director and senior biotechnology analyst at Cowen and Company.

Members of management and the company's existing finance team, including Tim Daly, Ovid’s senior vice president, finance and corporate controller, will assume the duties and responsibilities of Dr. Werber on an interim basis. Ovid has initiated a search process for the selection of a new chief financial officer.

“On behalf of Ovid, I want to thank Yaron for his dedication and significant contribution to our company. This has been accomplished with real professionalism, warmth and humor from day one,” said Jeremy Levin, DPhil, MB, BChir, chairman and chief executive officer of Ovid Therapeutics. “Yaron has been with us during a period of significant evolution from start-up through the transition to a public company in 2017. We are well-positioned to continue on our trajectory of clinical and operational execution and look forward to several key milestones anticipated through the end of the year and in 2019. Although we will miss him day to day, we are delighted that Yaron will remain a resource to Ovid in his new role at Cowen. As a true friend to all of us at Ovid, we wish Yaron great success.”

“While my decision was not easy and I am saddened to leave Ovid, I am very excited to return to my roots as a biotechnology analyst at Cowen and leverage my operational experience in that capacity,” stated Dr. Werber. “I am grateful to have been part of the exceptional team at Ovid. In a short period of time we made tremendous progress: we established a strong partnership with Takeda Pharmaceuticals; assembled a terrific team; completed both a mezzanine financing and initial public offering; and are building a robust pipeline in rare neurological disorders. The insights I have gained from these accomplishments as well as managing, building and growing Ovid from the ground up with Jeremy and the rest of the team will be valuable to me in my next role. As I depart, I remain enthusiastic about Ovid’s strategy, operational expertise, product development and pipeline focus.”

“Ovid is an important corporate client of Cowen and we are pleased to have assisted the company with its capital raising efforts to date while having the pleasure of getting to better know Yaron,” said Jeffrey M. Solomon, Cowen chief executive officer. “Yaron is an enormously talented individual and after a successful period as chief financial and business officer of Ovid, we are pleased he has chosen to return to Wall Street as a senior biotechnology analyst here at Cowen. Given Yaron’s robust experience in multiple facets of the life sciences industry, strengthened by his time at Ovid, we have no doubt he will be a strong addition to our health care equity research team.”

About Ovid Therapeutics
Ovid Therapeutics (NASDAQ: OVID) is a New York-based biopharmaceutical company using its BoldMedicine™ approach to develop medicines that transform the lives of patients with rare neurological disorders. Ovid has a broad pipeline of first-in-class medicines. The company’s lead investigational medicine, OV101, is currently in development for the treatment of Angelman syndrome and Fragile X syndrome. Ovid is also developing OV935/TAK-935 in collaboration with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited for the treatment of rare developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEE).

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

About Cowen Inc.
Cowen Inc. is a diversified financial services firm and, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, provides investment management, investment banking, research, sales and trading, prime brokerage, global clearing and commission management through its two business segments: Cowen Investment Management and its affiliates make up the Company’s investment management segment, while Cowen and Company, a member of FINRA and SIPC, and its affiliates make up the Company’s investment bank segment. Cowen Investment Management provides investment management solutions to a global client base and manages a significant portion of Cowen’s proprietary capital. Cowen and its affiliates offer industry focused investment banking for growth-oriented companies, domain knowledge-driven research, a sales and trading platform for institutional investors, global clearing and commission management services and also a comprehensive suite of prime brokerage services. Founded in 1918, the firm is headquartered in New York and has offices worldwide. For additional information, visit www.cowen.com.

Ovid Forward-Looking Statements 
This press release includes certain disclosures that contain “forward-looking statements,” including, without limitation, statements regarding timing and achievement of key milestones You can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “will,” “believes” and “expects.” Forward-looking statements are based on Ovid’s current expectations and assumptions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements, which are neither statements of historical fact nor guarantees or assurances of future performance. Other factors that may cause actual results to differ from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements in this press release are discussed in Ovid’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the “Risk Factors” contained therein. Ovid assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in expectations, even as new information becomes available.

Contacts
Investors:
Lora Pike  
Ovid Therapeutics Inc.
Senior Director, Investor Relations & Public Relations    
lpike@ovidrx.com

Steve Klass
Burns McClellan, Inc.
sklass@burnsmc.com
(212) 213-0006

Media:
Elliot Fox
W2O Group
efox@w2ogroup.com
(212) 257-6724