ANN ARBOR, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--OcuSciences, a medical device company developing ocular imagers to detect early disease by assessing retinal metabolic activity, today announced the addition of Michael Patane, PhD, to its Board of Directors. Dr. Patane brings over 25 years of drug discovery and development experience, with a proven track record of leadership in startup, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Many of these roles included ophthalmic product creation and development.
Most recently, Dr. Patane served as the President of Mitobridge, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Astellas. In this role, he successfully oversaw all operations and played a pivotal role in shaping the company's vision and strategy, ultimately leading to significant achievements, including a Series A financing of $45MM, a strategic alliance with Astellas totaling $30MM non-dilutive, and the company's acquisition by Astellas for $450MM.
Dr. Patane's experience extends beyond Mitobridge, having served as the Chief Scientific Officer of Eyegate Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (now Kiora Pharmaceuticals), where he focused on discovering and developing ocular therapeutics utilizing a proprietary iontophoresis system. Prior to Eyegate, Dr. Patane held key positions such as Director of Global Discovery Chemistry at Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research and Director of Medicinal Chemistry at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, where he led drug discovery efforts in the fields of oncology and metabolic diseases.
"We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Michael Patane to our Board of Directors," said Kurt Riegger, CEO at OcuSciences. "His wealth of experience in ophthalmic drug discovery and development, coupled with his knowledge and expertise in mitochondria, will undoubtedly strengthen our strategic vision and contribute to the continued success of OcuSciences."
“OcuSciences is at a very exciting time in its history as it builds momentum around its novel and patented retinal disease detection modality,” said Dr. Michael Patane. “I am honored to join this Board and look forward to working with my fellow directors and senior management to help OcuSciences advance the development and commercialization of its transformative retinal imaging devices.”
About OcuSciences, Inc.
OcuSciences, Inc., is a commercial-stage biotechnology company developing retinal imagers to identify metabolic dysfunction occurring in the retina for the early detection of disease. Its flagship device, the OcuMet Beacon, has been developed to automatically and non-invasively assess retinal metabolic function by detecting the degree of flavoprotein fluorescence (FPF), a well-studied precursor to retinal cell death, in a patient’s eye. OcuSciences has shown preliminary clinical utility in a number of different disease states, including diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration. Learn more at www.ocusciences.com.
