MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kedalion Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage company focused on the development and commercialization of topical ophthalmology therapies based on its proprietary AcuStream™ platform, today announced a shift in its management team as current CEO, Peter Noymer, Ph.D., transitions from the company to pursue new opportunities. Mark Blumenkranz, M.D., M.M.S., co-Founder will continue in his role as Chairman of the Board, and step into the CEO role as well. Dr. Noymer will remain a consultant to the company. “Peter has done a tremendous job and we wish him well. I am extremely excited about Kedalion’s prospects and very eager to spend even more time with the management team as our clinical program continues to gain momentum,” said Blumenkranz.
Blumenkranz has a long history of success in ophthalmic innovation and entrepreneurship, having served as a Director of Oculex Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Allergan in 2003), Co-founder and Director of Peak Surgical (acquired by Medtronic in 2011), Optimedica Corporation (acquired by AMO in 2013), Adverum Biotechnologies (ADVM:NASDAQ), Oculeve (acquired by Allergan in 2015), and Verana Health. He is also an independent Director of BVI Visitec and The Jackson Laboratories. Dr. Blumenkranz was trained as a retinal surgeon and pharmacologist. During his career at Stanford University, he served as HJ Smead Professor and Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology for eighteen years and Founding Director of the Byers Eye Institute.
Additionally, Kedalion has promoted Casey Dougan to Chief Commercial Officer and Vice President of Operations and Reynaldo Quintana to Senior Vice President of Research and Development. Marc Gleeson, a current advisor to the company will step into the role of Director on Kedalion’s Board.
Since joining Kedalion in February, Mr. Dougan has led the company’s business development and strategy efforts. His role will expand to oversee all commercial and operational activities. “Casey has proven to be a truly strategic asset for this company, and we look forward to further growth in his role,” said Blumenkranz. Prior to joining Kedalion, Mr. Dougan was an Associate Partner at McKinsey and Company in its life science practice.
Mr. Quintana has led product development efforts since he joined the company in 2018. As Kedalion continues to move forward with its clinical program, he, along with CTO and co-founder, Ehud Ivri, will continue to develop and optimize Kedalion’s novel topical ophthalmic drug delivery platform, AcuStream™. “Reynaldo has shown brilliance in his ability to execute in our development program. His and Ehud’s efforts have led to an elegant design that will enable us to revolutionize the way eye drops are administered, including far greater accuracy of aiming, precision in dose, safety, and comfort following administration,” Blumenkranz added. Previously, Mr. Quintana spent over 25 years leading product development at a variety of medical device companies, including Fontem Ventures and Alexza Pharmaceuticals.
Marc Gleeson, a current advisor to the company, and CEO of Azura Ophthalmics, will join the Kedalion’s Board as a Director. Gleeson has spent over 25 years working to commercialize ophthalmology products for Azura, Oculeve, a startup which developed a neurostimulatory device for the treatment of dry eye disease (acquired by Allergan), and Allergan. “Marc’s commercial and operating experience will prove to be invaluable for Kedalion as we continue to progress towards the later stages of development,” said Blumenkranz.
Additionally, Dr. Blumenkranz will be speaking at the Ophthalmology Innovation Summit at the American Academy of Ophthalmology during Innovation Showcase 2, at approximately 10:15am on October 10th, 2019 about AcuStream technology as well as several developments at Kedalion Therapeutics.
About Kedalion Therapeutics
Kedalion Therapeutics is a venture-backed, clinical-stage biotechnology company whose mission is to bring to market transformative topical ophthalmic therapies for new and existing indications. Kedalion’s proprietary AcuStream™ platform technology delivers topical drugs to the eye in a precise and accurate manner that enables comparable effect with up to an 80% reduction in dose compared to standard eye drops. Kedalion is based in Menlo Park, CA. For more information, visit www.kedalionthera.com.
