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NovAdBio

Meet the NovAdBio Team

Our Mission and Expertise

Marie-Laure Rives, PhD, is a drug discovery, translational pharmacology, and scientific strategy expert driven by a mission to advance innovative and effective solutions for patients with challenging diseases. With more than 17 years of international experience spanning large pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, and start-ups, she combines deep scientific expertise with strategic, operational, and business development leadership.

Marie-Laure has deep expertise in GPCR pharmacology and has expanded her scientific expertise throughout her career across diverse target classes, therapeutic modalities, and disease areas. She has built and led high-performing pharmacology and biology teams, directed drug discovery and preclinical programs, established strategic external partnerships, and supported critical portfolio and investment decisions.

Her therapeutic expertise spans Women’s Health and reproductive medicine, immunology, inflammation, metabolic disease, fibrosis, and neuroscience. She has held scientific and leadership positions at Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, and Ferring Pharmaceuticals, contributing to drug discovery and preclinical programs across multiple therapeutic areas. She subsequently served as Head of Biology at PostEra and Vice President of Biology at AnaptysBio, where she led multidisciplinary research teams, developed global CRO and external research partnerships, and aligned scientific and R&D strategies with portfolio and business objectives.

In parallel with her scientific leadership, Marie-Laure has developed extensive experience in business development, strategic partnerships, scientific due diligence, and asset and platform evaluation. She has assessed emerging technologies, therapeutic programs, and potential collaborations, translating complex scientific information into clear strategic recommendations for decision-makers. Her experience spans opportunity assessment, competitive and therapeutic landscape analysis, partnership strategy, and the evaluation of scientific and translational risks associated with drug development programs.

Marie-Laure's particular strength lies at the intersection of mechanistic pharmacology, disease biology, translational research, business development, and strategic drug development. This combination enables her to help biotech and pharmaceutical companies, investors, and other life sciences organizations evaluate opportunities, identify scientific risks, develop stronger programs, and make informed decisions about assets, partnerships, and portfolios.

Publications

Babbe, …Rives, M.L. et al. (2024) Discovery of highly selective SIK1/2 inhibitors that modulate innate immune activation and suppress intestinal inflammation," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 121(1):e2307086120.

Wang, J., Nakafuku, K. M., Ziff, J., Gelin, C. F., Gholami, H., Thompson, A. A., Karpowich, N. K., Limon, L., Coate, H. R., Damm-Ganamet, K. L., Shih, A. Y., Grant, J. C., Côte, M., Mak, P. A., Pascual, H. A., Rives, M. L., Edwards, J. P., Venable, J. D., Venkatesan, H., Shi, Z., … Shireman, B. T. (2023). Development of small molecule inhibitors of natural killer group 2D receptor (NKG2D). Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry letters, 96, 129492.

Stalewski, J., Shih, A. Y., Papazyan, R., Ramirez, J., Ibanez, G., Hsiao, P., Yue, Y., Yin, J., Badger, C., Wu, S., Ueki, A., Fuchs, B. C., & Rives, M. L. (2023). pH Dependence of a GPR4 Selective Antagonist Hampers Its Therapeutic Potential. The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics, 386(1), 35–44.
corresponding author

Thompson, A. A., Harbut, M. B., Kung, P. P., Karpowich, N. K., Branson, J. D., Grant, J. C., Hagan, D., Pascual, H. A., Bai, …, Côte, M., Gelin, C. F., Damm-Ganamet, K. L., Gholami, H., Huff, A. R., Limon, L., Lumb, K. J., Mak, P. A., … Rives, M.L., …, Allen, S. J. (2023). Identification of smallmolecule protein-protein interaction inhibitors for NKG2D. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 120(18), e2216342120.

Patch, R.J., Zhang, R., Edavettal, S., Macielag, M.J., Eckardt, A.J., Li, J., Rives, M.L., Edwards, W., Hinke, S.A., Qiu, X., Jian, W., Libiger, O., Zheng, S., Jeyaseelan, J., Liang, Y., Rangwala, S.M., Leonard, J.N., Hornby, P. (2022) Design, synthesis and preclinical evaluation of bio-conjugated amylinomimetic peptides as long-acting amylin receptor agonists. Eur J Med Chem. Apr 4; 236:114330

Damm-Ganamet, K., Rives, M.L., Wickenden, A. and Mirzadegan, T. (2020) Employing Computational Methods for the Discovery of Novel and Selective EAAT2 Inhibitors. J Biol Chem. 295 (13): 4359-4366
* co-first author

Luke A. Miles, L.A, Hermans, S.J., Crespi, G.A.N., Gooi, J.H., Doughty, L., Nero, T.L., Markulić, J. Ebneth, A., Wroblowski, B., Oehlrich, D., Trabanco, A.A., Rives, M.L., Royaux, I., Hancock, N.C. and Parker, M.W. (2019) Small Molecule Binding to Alzheimer’s Risk Factor CD33 Promotes Aβ Phagocytosis. iScience vol. 19: 110-118

Rives, M.L., Rady, B., Swanson, N., Zhao, S., Qi, J., Arnoult, E., Bakaj, I., Mancini, A., Breton, B., Lee, S.P., Player, M.R., Pocai, A. (2018) GPR40-Mediated Gα12 Activation by Allosteric Full Agonists Highly Efficacious at Potentiating Glucose-Stimulated Insulin Secretion in Human Islets. Mol Pharmacol 93(6), 581-591
corresponding author

Rives, M.L., Javitch, J.A. and Wickenden, A.D. (2017) Potentiating SLC transporter activity: Emerging drug discovery opportunities. Biochem Pharmacol. doi: 10.1016/j.bcp.2017.02.010.

Rives, M.L., Shaw, M., Zhu, B., Hinke, S.A. & Wickenden, A.D. (2016) State-Dependent Allosteric Inhibition of the Human SLC13A5 Citrate Transporter by Hydroxysuccinic Acids, PF-06649298 and PF-06761281. Mol Pharmacol 90, 766-774

Jackson, V.M., Breen, D., Fortin, J.P., Liou, A., Kuzmiski, J.B., Loomis, K., Rives, M.L., Shah, B. and Carpino, P.A. (2015) Latest approaches for the treatment of obesity. Expert Opinion in Drug Discovery, 10(8):825-39.

Gassaway, M.M., Rives, M.L., Kruegel, A.C., Javitch, J.A. and Sames, D. (2014) The atypical antidepressant and neurorestorative agent tianeptine is a mu-opioid receptor agonist. Transl Psychiatry, 4: e411.

White, K.L., Scopton, A.P., Rives, M.L., Bikbulatov, R.V., Polepally, P.R., Brown, P.J., Kenakin, T.,, Javitch, J.A., Zjawiony, J.K. and Roth, B.L. (2014) Identification of novel functionally selective Kappa Opioid Receptor scaffolds. Mol Pharmacol, 85(1): 83-90.

Rives, M.L. and Javitch, J.A. (2013) Sensing conformational changes in metabotropic glutamate receptors. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 110, 5742-5743.

Negri, A., Rives, M.L.,* Caspers, M., Prisinzano, T., Javitch, J.A. and Filizola, M. (2013) Discovery of a Novel Selective Kappa-Opioid Receptor Agonist Using Crystal Structure-Based Virtual Screening. J Chem. Inf Model., 53(3), 521–526.
* co-first author

Rives, M.L., Rossillo, M., Liu-Chen, L.Y., and Javitch, J.A. (2012) 6'-Guanidinonaltrindole (6'-GNTI) Is a G Protein-biased κ-Opioid Receptor Agonist That Inhibits Arrestin Recruitment. J. Biol. Chem., 287(32), 27050-4.

Trifilieff, P., Rives, M.L., Urizar, E., Vishwasrao, H., Castrillon, J., Gullberg, M., Nyström, E., Kandel, E. and Javitch, J.A. (2011) Detection of endogenous dopamine D2- adenosine A2A receptor complexes ex vivo by proximity ligation assay. Biotechniques, 51(2), 111-8.

Albizu, L., Cottet, M., Kralikova, M., Stoev, S., Seyer, R., Brabet, I., Roux, T., Bazin, H., Bourrier, E., Lamarque, L., Breton, C., Rives, M.L., Newman, A., Javitch, J., Trinquet, E., Manning, M., Pin, J.P., Mouillac, B. and Durroux, T. (2010) Time-resolved FRET between GPCR ligands reveals oligomers in native tissues. Nat Chem Biol, 6, 587-594.

Prezeau, L., Rives, M.L., Comps-Agrar, L., Maurel, D., Kniazeff, J., Pin, J.P. (2010) Functional crosstalk between GPCRs: with or without oligomerization. Curr Opin Pharmacol. 10(1):6-13.

Pin, J.P., Comps-Agrar, L., Maurel, D., Monnier, C., Rives, M.L., Trinquet, E., Kniazeff, J., Pondard, P., Prezeau, L. (2009) G-protein-coupled receptor oligomers: two or more for what? Lessons from mGlu and GABA(B) receptors. J Physiol. 587:5337-44.

Rives, M.L., Vol, C., Fukazawa, Y., Tinel, N., Trinquet, E., Ayoub, M.A., Shigemoto, R., Pin, J.P. and Prezeau, L. (2009) Crosstalk between GABA(B) and mGlu1a receptors reveals new insight into GPCR signal integration. Embo J. 28: 2195-2208.

Maurel, D., Comps-Agrar, L., Brock, C., Rives, M.L., Bourrier, E., Ayoub, M.A., Bazin, H., Tinel, N., Durroux, T., Prezeau, L., Trinquet, E. and Pin, J.P. (2008) Cell-surface protein-protein interaction analysis with time-resolved FRET and snap-tag technologies: application to GPCR oligomerization. Nat Methods, 5, 561-567.

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