ABOUT NOAH
A company built the hard way — by the person with the most at stake.
Noah Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a privately held, clinical-stage pharmaceutical company headquartered in California. The company has been founder-led and founder-funded from its beginning: from first hypothesis through a completed Phase 2 study, the program has been carried by its founder's own commitment — of conviction and of capital — with no legacy of outside obligations. That independence has let Noah do the slow, unglamorous work first: the patent estate, the manufacturing foundation, the regulatory groundwork.
NOAH AT A GLANCE
- FOUNDED
- 2018
- COMPANY
- Noah Pharmaceuticals, Inc. — privately held, founder-funded
- HEADQUARTERS
- California, United States
- FOCUS
- Severe Alzheimer's disease
- LEAD PROGRAM
- Investigational once-daily oral fixed-dose combination of three long-approved medicines
- STAGE
- Phase 2 completed (2025) · Phase 3 protocol submitted to FDA (2026) · confirmatory study in startup
- REGULATORY PATH
- U.S. FDA 505(b)(2), under an Investigational New Drug application open since 2020
- INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
- 55 issued patents · 65 filings · 25+ jurisdictions · protection into the late 2030s (U.S.) and ~2040 (Europe and major Asian markets)
Leadership
Josh Atiba, MD, MHA, FRCPC
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
An internist, medical oncologist, and clinical pharmacologist with more than four decades in medicine and drug development — trained in clinical pharmacology at Stanford and in oncology at the University of British Columbia, and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada. Dr. Atiba developed the combination hypothesis in his own clinical practice and has funded the program from founding through the completed Phase 2 study.
Kirti Valia, Ph.D.
Chief Pharmaceutical Officer
More than 45 years across formulation, manufacturing scale-up, technology transfer, and end-to-end drug development. As Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, Dr. Valia has carried the fixed-dose combination from dosage-form design through the completed Phase 2 study and into Phase 3 preparation, building and governing the outsourced development network that runs it. Ph.D., Rutgers University.
Advisors
Khurshid Iqbal, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Advisor
A scientific executive with four decades advancing and de-risking innovative therapeutics — including a decade directing pharmaceutical development at Hoffmann-La Roche, Vice President of R&D at West Pharmaceutical Services, and Chief Scientific Officer roles at KBI Biopharma and Pharm Ops.
Modestus Obochi, Ph.D., MBA
Chief Operating Advisor
A biotech and pharmaceutical business executive with three decades spanning startups to global enterprises — leading more than $5 billion in strategic transactions, overseeing billion-dollar P&Ls, and scaling operations across more than 100 countries. An independent board member and strategic advisor across the healthcare ecosystem.
Anna Atiba, M.Sc.
Chief Technology Advisor
A staff software engineer with more than a decade building healthcare technology — spanning scheduling, pharmacy-fulfillment, and genomics platforms including Zocdoc, Thirty Madison, and GeneDx. M.Sc. in Radiation Biology, University of Oxford.
Mike Jones, Esq.
Chief Legal Advisor
Advises the company on all things legal — corporate, transactional, and fundraising matters. A practicing lawyer for the past decade, Mike earned his Juris Doctor at Boston College Law School.
John J. Simonelli, CPA
Chief Finance Advisor
A certified public accountant with more than 30 years of experience across accounting and financial management.
Joseph Atiba, MBA
Chief of Staff
Chief of Staff coordinating the company's regulatory, financing, and operational workstreams. Joseph has a decade of experience in investment and asset management at private equity real estate firms. He earned his MBA at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business.