NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ophthotech Corporation (NASDAQ:OPHT) announced today the election of Adrienne L. Graves, Ph.D., former Chief Executive Officer of Santen Inc., the U.S. arm of Japan’s largest ophthalmic pharmaceutical company, to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Dr. Graves is well-known in the ophthalmology community and for her successful track record in building organizations and overseeing innovative ophthalmic products through the development, regulatory and commercialization process in the U.S. and globally.
“We are excited to welcome Dr. Graves, a highly-respected executive in our industry, to our Board of Directors,” stated Glenn P. Sblendorio, Chief Executive Officer and President of Ophthotech and David R. Guyer, M.D., Executive Chairman of Ophthotech.
Mr. Sblendorio added, “Adrienne brings an impressive legacy of successful leadership and strategic acumen developing innovative ophthalmic products to our Board. We are confident that the addition of Adrienne as a Board member will have a meaningful impact on our Company, as we focus on building a new chapter of Ophthotech by advancing our pipeline of novel therapeutics and gene therapies for retinal diseases.”
“I am particularly pleased to have the opportunity to work with the Board and management at Ophthotech,” stated Dr. Graves. “I believe that the industry is only in its infancy in providing treatment options to patients with retinal diseases, and that the vast majority of transformative treatments are still to come. As a Board member, I look forward to providing insight and helping to guide the Company’s efforts to advance its pipeline of retinal assets.”
Ophthotech also announced that Michael J. Ross, Ph.D. has informed the Company that he will step down as an Independent Board Member at the end of February 2019.
“On behalf of the Board of Directors of Ophthotech, I would like to thank Mike for his contributions, guidance and support, and we wish him all the best,” stated Mr. Sblendorio.
Adrienne L. Graves, Ph.D.
Adrienne
L. Graves, Ph.D. is a visual scientist by training and a global industry
leader in ophthalmology. As the former Chief Executive Officer of Santen
Inc., the US subsidiary of the 130-year-old Japanese pharmaceutical
company, she successfully established a strong global presence, brought
multiple ophthalmic products through development to approval and
commercialization and led global teams through successful acquisitions
and partnerships. At Santen, Dr. Graves served as Senior Vice President
of Worldwide Clinical Development (US, Europe and Japan) for seven years
and Chief Executive Officer for eight years. Prior to Santen, she spent
nine years at Alcon, joining as Senior Scientist to establish Alcon's
first Retinal Electrophysiology Laboratory. She progressed through roles
of increasing responsibility in R&D, including directing clinical
development in multiple therapeutic areas and serving as Director of
International Ophthalmology. Dr. Graves currently serves as an
Independent Director on multiple corporate boards. She is also a
Director on the following Foundation Boards: American Society of
Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Foundation, Glaucoma Research
Foundation, American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Foundation
(Emeritus), Himalayan Cataract Project, Foundation Fighting Blindness
Retinal Degeneration Fund and KeepYourSight Foundation. Dr. Graves
cofounded Glaucoma
360 (Glaucoma Research Foundation) and Ophthalmic World Leaders
(OWL). She received her A.B. in Psychology from Brown University, her
Ph.D. in Psychobiology from the University of Michigan, and she
completed a postdoctoral fellowship in visual neuroscience at the
University of Paris.
About Ophthotech Corporation
Ophthotech is a
biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of novel
therapies to treat ophthalmic diseases, with a focus on age-related and
orphan retinal diseases. For more information, please visit www.ophthotech.com.
Forward-looking Statements
Any statements in this press
release about Ophthotech’s future expectations, plans and prospects
constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor
provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements include any statements about Ophthotech’s
strategy, future operations and future expectations and plans and
prospects for Ophthotech, and any other statements containing the words
“anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend”, “goal,” “may”,
“might,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “target,” “potential,” “will,”
“would,” “could,” “should,” “continue,” and similar expressions. In this
press release, Ophthotech’s forward looking statements include
statements about the implementation of its strategic plan. Such
forward-looking statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties
that could cause Ophthotech’s performance or achievements to differ
significantly from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking
statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, those
related to the initiation and conduct of clinical trials, availability
of data from clinical trials, expectations for regulatory matters, need
for additional financing and negotiation and consummation of in-license
and/or acquisition transactions and other factors discussed in the “Risk
Factors” section contained in the quarterly and annual reports that
Ophthotech files with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any
forward-looking statements represent Ophthotech’s views only as of the
date of this press release. Ophthotech anticipates that subsequent
events and developments will cause its views to change. While Ophthotech
may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in
the future, Ophthotech specifically disclaims any obligation to do so
except as required by law.
OPHT-G
