Our Mission
To render suicidal depression and PTSD curable diseases with overnight results through state-of-the-art neuroplastic therapy; and offer HOPE to patients and families without stigma.
Our Vision
Mental healthcare becomes a story of hope: When people tell their mental health story, they and their families can end any chapter by saying, “Everything’s okay, we went to a HOPE Clinic".
Who we are
HOPE Therapeutics is a daughter company of NRx Pharmaceuticals. We are led by a veteran team of health and biotech innovators who began a mission in 2015 to cure suicidal depression.
Today, HOPE is an independently operated company leveraging our clinical and scientific expertise to provide a comprehensive care path to people struggling with mental health and cognitive disorders.
Leadership Team
Jonathan Javitt, MD, MPH
Founder and CEO
Dr Javitt is a business and thought leader in healthcare, biotech, health informatics, and public policy. He is Founder, Chairman, and CEO of NRx Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:NRXP) the parent company of HOPE Therapeutics that is developing the first FDA-approved treatments for suicidal depression and PTSD.
Jonathan has been a founder in 7 health informatics and analytics companies that reached successful public exits: Healthcare Computer Associates (NYSE: SMSI), NextGen (Nasdaq:QSII), Certitude (NYSE:UNH), Active Health Management (NYSE:UNH), First Gateways (NYSE:DGX), Coderyte, Inc., (NYSE:3M), and Telcare, Inc. (Nasdaq:BEAT) which was funded by Qualcomm Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Venture Partners.
In the policy arena, Prof. Javitt has served as a senior health advisor to four US Presidential administrations, starting as an Expert Consultant to the Medicare Program under Presidents Reagan and Bush ’41. Subsequently, he was appointed a Special Government Employee to the White House Executive Office of the President under President Clinton. He was commissioned by President George W. Bush ’43 to support the Undersecretary of Defense (ATL) and subsequently to chair the Health Subcommittee of the President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC) which created the blueprint for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT and the HITECH act.
Dr. Javitt brings direct experience related to the challenges of severe depression and PTSD in the civilian, military and first responder communities. He is a Flotilla Commander in the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, a Branch Chief on its National Staff. As an aviator in the Air Auxiliary, he regularly flies search and rescue missions. He is able to represent the policy agenda of DHS Leadership, while speaking the language of First Responders, having been one since the age of 20.
Jonathan is an alumnus of Princeton University, Weill Cornell Medical College, the Harvard School of Public Health which has recognized him as an Alumnus of Merit, and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he continues to serve as an Adjunct Professor. His scientific works have been cited by more than 36,000 authors worldwide and he is among the top 1% of published scientists.
Jerry Shultz
President, Hope Therapeutics
CEO, HTX Management
Jerry Shultz is a veteran healthcare technology executive with more than 30 years of experience in scaling transformative companies across EHR, RCM, services, and value-based care.
As President of Hope Therapeutics and CEO of HTX Management, he brings a track record of turning vision into measurable growth—building high-performing teams and driving operational excellence in both start-ups and mature enterprises.
As one of the founding members of NextGen healthcare (Nasdaq:QSII) , Jerry played an integral role in growing the one of the first Electronic Medical Records companies from a startup over $500M in annual revenue and a $3 billion, publicly -traded leader.
Before joining HOPE, Jerry served as President and Co-Founder of Lightbeam Health Solutions, where he helped scale the company to $70 Million in recurring revenue. Under Jerry’s leadership, Lighbeam unified data from over 13 billion claims and clinical records covering more than 35 million lives, driving $3 Billion in MSSP savings and $5 Billion in total value-based care savings since program inception.
Recognized as a results-driven innovator, Jerry now focuses on solving the behavioral health crisis—advancing scalable, AI-enabled care models that improve outcomes for depression and mental health nationwide.
Rebecca S. Cohen, MD, FAPA, FCTMSS
Medical Director
Dr Cohen is an Interventional Psychiatrist and Psychopharmacologist specializing in the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders as well as a nationally recognized expert in Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). Cohen & Associates, was established in 2014 as one of the nation's firs interventional psychiatry practices.
Dr Cohen brings pivotal leadership and clinical expertise to the entire HOPE network, defining and instilling HOPE’s clinical values and focus on comprehensive, neuroplastic care.
Dr Cohen is a graduate of Tufts University and Boston University, where she earned her MS In medical sciences and was awarded her MD together with the psychiatry department’s Malamud Award for Excellence. She trained In adult psychiatry training at the University of Minnesota and Georgetown University, where she was twice awarded the Hugh H. Hussey Teaching award. She completed her fellowship in psychotherapy at the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute. She was appointed a Site Investigator of the National Outcomes Study for TMS in 2012.
She currently serves on the International Clinical TMS Society (CTMSS) Board of Directors and has served as the Co-Chair of the Society’s Membership Committee.
LTC Charles Paul, RN
(US Army, Ret.)
VP of Clinical Services
LTC Charles Paul brings over twenty years of experience in administering emergency medicine in some of the most unfavorable conditions in the world; while teaching clinical teams to united around best-in-class protocols.
Charles attended East Carolina University where he completed ROTC and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. He was first commissioned as a combat medic in the 82nd Airborne Division Fort Bragg, NC. Charles completed multiple combat tours in the Middle East, and Africa. He is a graduate of the US Army Special Forces Selection (SFAS), SERE-C, Gryphon Tactical Survivability Course, the Army Trauma Training Course, Tactical Combat Medical Course, and the Army’s Emergency Nurse Course. He was selected for and graduated from the Army’s Command General Staff College.
His decorations, medals, and awards include a Presidential Letter of Commendation, the Meritorious Service Medal (4th award), Army Commendation Medal (7th award), Army Commendation Medal with Combat Device, Army Achievement Medal with Combat Device, Army Achievement Medal (2nd award), Meritorious Unit Commendation (2nd award), Iraq Campaign Medal Campaign Star (4th award), National Defense Service Medal, Overseas Service Medal (7th award), Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal (2nd award), Army Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Master Combat Action Badge, Combat Action Badge, Expert Field Medic Badge, Parachutist Badge, and Air Assault Badge. His Foreign awards include the German Parachutist Bronze Wings and Argentina Parachutist Wings.
Stephen Durand, CRNA, APRN
Director of Florida Clinic Operations
Stephen, a US Army Reserve veteran, attended Wolford College where he received his training as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) and earned a Master's degree from Florida Gulf Coast University.
After specializing in obstetric (OB) anesthesia, Stephen became a clinical instructor and professor, training hundreds of anesthesia students over a 15 year span.
When ketamine was first discovered to be effective in treating mood and pain disorders, Stephen engaged in an extensive training course in the use of Ketamine to treat depression, suicidal ideation, anxiety, PTSD, OCD and chronic pain. Together with his wife Liz Durand, RN, he founded Dura Medical in 2018 with the mission to treat 10,000 patients with suicidal depression.
Stephen joined HOPE Therapeutics in 2025 as Director of Florida Clinic Operations and leads a rapidly expanding network of HOPE interventional psychiatry clinics, helping them fulfill Hope’s clinical values statewide.
Michael Abrams, MBA
Chief Financial Officer
Michael Abrams serves as CFO of NRx Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: NRXP), parent company of HOPE Therapeutics, and as CFO of HOPE.
Mr Abrams is a senior finance professional with almost three decades of experience as an executive officer, investment banker, director and senior advisor; including as the Chief Financial Officer of Arch Therapeutics, RiseIT Solutions, and FitLife Brands. Mr. Abrams has deep experience across multiple functional areas including, but not limited to, financial operations, accounting, mergers and acquisitions, financial engineering, capital raising and shareholder communications. He earned his MBA with Honors from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business following his BBA with Honors from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he was named a William F. Field alumni scholar.
Scientific Advisory Board
Gerard Sanacora, PhD, MD – Chair
Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University. Initial discovery on the role of NMDA antagonists in psychiatric disorders. More than 760 publications in the field. Inventor of the NRx patent portfolio.
Andrew Nierenberg, MD – US Principal Investigator
Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard University, Director, Dauten Family Center for Bipolar Treatment Innovation. More than 875 publications in the field. Director of the national Patient Centered Outcomes Research Initiative in treatment of Bipolar Depression.
Marion Leboyer, MD, PhD – EU Principal Investigator
Professor of Psychiatry Inserm (Paris). More than 1300 publications related to clinical psychiatry and infectious / genetic triggers of psychiatric disease.
Philip Lavin, PhD – Lead Methodologist
NRx Lead Methodologist. Clinical Professor, Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health. FDA Special Government Employee in Statistics. More than 78 Drug and Medical Device Approvals and more than 350 scientific publications.