next phase of development.
Ghent, Belgium, August 11th, 2026 – Tanai Therapeutics (“Tanai” or the “Company”), a biotechnology company developing small molecule therapies for obesity and cardiometabolic disease, today announced the appointment of Josua Jordi, Ph.D., as Chief Executive Officer and Director on July 1st, 2026. Dr. Jordi succeeds Pieter Rottiers, Ph.D., who served as Tanai’s founding CEO and led the Company through its initial build-out and transition towards a standalone biotech company. Dr. Jordi has served as Chief Scientific Officer of Tanai, where he led the Company’s scientific strategy and drug discovery activities through key inflection points.
“I am proud to have served as a founding CEO for Tanai and to have helped bring the Company to this important stage,” said Pieter Rottiers, Ph.D. “Over the past period, Tanai has strengthened its scientific direction, advanced its target validation work and identified differentiated chemical matter. This progress reflects the dedication of the Tanai team, as well as the support of our investors and partners. I have full confidence in Josua’s leadership as the Company moves into its next phase.”
“On behalf of Tanai’s Board of Directors, I want to thank Pieter for his dedication and leadership, and for building the strong foundation on which Tanai now stands,” said Sara Vandenwijngaert, Chair of Tanai’s Board of Directors; “We are equally excited that Josua will step into the role of CEO. Josua combines exceptional scientific expertise and a proven track record in obesity drug discovery & development with a demonstrated ability to build a successful company in this space. We look forward to Tanai entering an exciting new phase under his leadership.”
“I am honored to take on the role of CEO at this important moment for Tanai”, said Josua Jordi, Ph.D. “Building on the foundation established by the Tanai team, I believe we are well-positioned to advance its differentiated small molecule approach for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases. I look forward to continuing to work closely with the team, our investors, scientific founders and partners as we continue to develop Tanai’s therapeutic strategy and portfolio. ”
Dr. Jordi is an ETH Zurich-trained biochemist and received a distinguished Ph.D. in human physiology from the University of Zurich. He co-founded EraCal Therapeutics Ltd, based on platform technology invented during his postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University, and led the obesity-focused biotech as CEO and board member from inception through financing rounds, multiple research collaborations, and a licensing deal with Novo Nordisk. He later led drug discovery efforts in metabolism at pRED-Roche before joining Tanai as Chief Scientific Officer. He now serves as Chief Executive Officer and Director.
About Tanai Therapeutics
Tanai Therapeutics is developing a differentiated small molecule approach for obesity and cardiometabolic disease by targeting energy expenditure pathways. The Company’s strategy is guided by human genetics and translational biology, with the aim of developing therapies that may complement existing appetite-modulating treatments or provide alternative approaches for patients with obesity and related metabolic diseases. Based in Belgium, Tanai brings together world-class metabolic disease experts, drug discovery scientists and biotech entrepreneurs to advance next-generation therapeutics for cardiometabolic health.
For more information, please contact:
Tanai Therapeutics, info@tanaitx.com
