Universidade Nova de Lisboa

Press Release Dr. Paulo Fontoura, MD, PhD, joins STALICLA as Chief Scientific and Clinical Development Advisor Geneva, Switzerland – September 19, 2024 – STALICLA SA, a Swiss neuro precision biotech company dedicated to developing precision medicine-based treatments for neurodevelopmental disorders, announced today that Dr. Paulo Fontoura will be joining their drug development team as Chief Scientific and Clinical Development Advisor. Dr. Fontoura will work to support STALICLA’s mission to transform the treatment landscape for neurodevelopmental disorders. Lynn Durham, CEO of STALICLA, said: “We are delighted and humbled to welcome Paulo to the STALICLA team. With his unparalleled insight and unique understanding of CNS drug development and neurodevelopmental disorders, he is strengthening STALICLA’s position as a pioneer in precision neuropsychiatry. Paulo’s expertise will be instrumental in helping us achieve our next milestones, notably our entry into two Phase 2 clinical trials in subgroups of patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), each with expected readouts in the coming 24 months.” Dr. Paulo Fontoura is a pioneer in innovative clinical development strategies. During his 16-year tenure at Roche, he served as the Global Head of Neuroscience Clinical Development; he was instrumental in the launch of several groundbreaking medications targeting neurological conditions, including Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), and Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD), as well as pioneering work on Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's disease, and several psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. Specifically, he and his team spearheaded the clinical development of new therapies for Fragile X, Down's and Angelman's syndromes, and the first pharmacological treatment for core symptoms of ASD which reached Phase 3 clinical trials in both adults and children. Additionally, his team co-led the Autism Innovative Medicine Studies (AIMS) including EU-AIMS and AIMS-2-TRIALS public private partnership. Dr. Fontoura has also had an illustrious academic career. He held multiple faculty positions at the New University of Lisbon and Stanford University, where he earned his MD and a PhD in Neuroimmunology and trained as a clinical neurologist. In recognition of his exceptional achievements in the field of neuroscience, he was elected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology in 2022. He currently serves as a visiting professor at the New University of Lisbon and lectures at the European Center of Pharmaceutical Medicine in Basel. Paulo Fontoura MD, PhD, Chief Scientific and Clinical Development Advisor, said: “I am thrilled to join the STALICLA team and help them develop therapies for people with neurodevelopmental disorders. Their approach promises to bring real breakthroughs in this area of great medical need.” About STALICLA: STALICLA SA is a Swiss clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, revolutionizing the treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders. The company has developed a clinically validated neuro precision development platform, successfully delivering stratified patient subgroups and advancing tailored treatment options. Its lead NDD asset, STP1, and a second NDD asset are set to enter Phase 2 trials with expected readouts within 24 months. STP7 (Mavoglurant), is also being advanced for Phase 3 trials, fully funded by the US government. For more information, please visit: www.stalicla.com. Contacts: STALICLA SALynn Durham Founder & Chief Executive Officerlynn.durham@stalicla.com Media & InvestorsChris MaggosCohesion Bureauchris.maggos@cohesionbureau.com+41 79 367 6254 Attachment 20240918 Paulo Fontoura PR_final

To 'breathe' in an environment without oxygen, bacteria in the ground beneath our feet depend upon a single family of proteins to transfer excess electrons, produced during the 'burning' of nutrients, to electric hairs called nanowires projecting from their surface. To "breathe" in an environment without oxygen, bacteria in the ground beneath our feet depend upon a single family of proteins to transfer excess electrons, produced during the "burning" of nutrients, to electric hairs called nanowires projecting from their surface, found by researchers at Yale University and NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon (NOVA-FCT). This family of proteins in essence acts as plugs that power these nanowires to create a natural electrical grid deep inside the Earth, which enables many types of microbes to survive and support life, said co-senior authors of the new study Nikhil Malvankar, associate professor of Yale's Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry Department and Microbial Sciences Institute, and Carlos Salgueiro, Full Professor at NOVA-FCT. Malvankar's lab and Salgueiro's lab have extensively studied the components of this microbial electrical grid. However, it was unclear how bacteria can transmit excess electrons produced by metabolic activity into nanowires projecting from their surface and connecting with minerals or neighbors. They found that many kinds of soil bacteria depend upon a single, widespread family of cytochromes inside their bodies to charge nanowires. Understanding the details of this nanowire charging is important for the potential development of new energy sources and new biomaterials and its impact on the environment. Malvankar and Salgueiro note that microbes absorb 80% of methane in the ocean, a major contributor to global warming, emitted from ocean floors. However, microbes on Earth's surface account for 50% of methane emissions into the atmosphere. Understanding different metabolic processes might help mitigate methane emissions, they said. The research was reported in the journal Nature Communications. This work was led by co-first authors Pilar Portela and Catharine Shipps, along with Cong Shen and Vishok Srikanth.

A new study concludes that an extinct volcano off the shore of Portugal could store as much as 1.2-8.6 gigatons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of ~24-125 years of the country's industrial emissions. For context, in 2022 a total of 42.6 megatons (0.0426 gigatons) of carbon dioxide was removed from the atmosphere by international carbon capture and storage efforts, according to the Global CCS Institute. The new study suggests that carbon capture and storage in offshore underwater volcanoes could be a promising new direction for removal and storage of much larger volumes of the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere. A new study published in Geology concludes that an extinct volcano off the shore of Portugal could store as much as 1.2-8.6 gigatons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of ~24-125 years of the country's industrial emissions. For context, in 2022 a total of 42.6 megatons (0.0426 gigatons) of carbon dioxide was removed from the atmosphere by international carbon capture and storage efforts, according to the Global CCS Institute. The new study suggests that carbon capture and storage in offshore underwater volcanoes could be a promising new direction for removal and storage of much larger volumes of the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere. "We know that most countries, including Portugal, are making efforts to decarbonize the economy and our human activities, this is a message that this may be one of the instruments to solve the problem" says Ricardo Pereira, a geologist at the NOVA School of Science and Technology, and co-author of the study. Storing carbon dioxide in an extinct volcano would rely on a process known as 'in situ mineral carbonation.' In this process, carbon dioxide reacts with elements in certain types of rocks to produce new minerals that safely and permanently store the carbon dioxide. Elements like calcium, magnesium, and iron combine with carbon dioxide to form the minerals calcite, dolomite, and magnesite, respectively. Rocks that contain large amounts of calcium, iron, and magnesium are ideal candidates for this process -- such as the volcanic basalts that make up most of the sea floor. Knowing this, the researchers targeted an offshore volcano for a few reasons -- the structure of the volcano could provide an ideal architecture for carbon injection and storage, the rocks are the right type for the reactions involved, and the location Is not too close to large populations, but also not too far. Most carbon capture projects have relied on injection of carbon dioxide into porous sedimentary basins that are sealed to prevent migration of the gas out of reservoirs. In these cases, the carbon will eventually start to form minerals, but only over longer periods of time -- decades to centuries. In 2016, researchers published findings that 95% of carbon dioxide injected into underground basalts in Iceland had mineralized within just two years. The much shorter mineralization time makes the process safer and more effective -- once carbon is stored in minerals, issues like potential leaks are no longer a concern. Davide Gamboa, a geologist at the University of Aveiro and co-author of the study, explains, "What makes mineral carbonation really interesting is the time. The faster it gets into a mineral, the safer it becomes, and once it's a mineral, it is permanent." The researchers studied the storage potential at the ancient Fontanelas volcano, which is partially buried ~100 kilometers offshore from Lisbon, with a peak ~1500 meters below sea-level. To estimate the potential volume of carbon dioxide that could be stored at this site, the authors used 2D and 3D seismic studies of the undersea volcano that had been produced during offshore oil exploration, as well as data from samples that had been dredged from the area in 2008. The dredged samples contained naturally formed carbonate minerals, indicating that the chemical reactions required to store carbon were already happening, and that intentional efforts to mineralize carbon in these rocks should be successful. The samples also had up to 40% pore space -- meaning there are spaces within the rocks where carbon dioxide could be injected and mineralized. The researchers also indicate that low-permeability layers imaged around the flanks of the volcano could help with containing the carbon dioxide before it is mineralized. While this study demonstrated a large potential carbon storage capacity at the Fontanelas volcano, the authors highlight that many other places around the world may have similar offshore volcanoes that could be candidates for carbon capture and storage.