BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--OcuTerra Therapeutics, Inc. (“OcuTerra”), a clinical stage ophthalmology company developing innovative drugs to treat ophthalmic diseases for which the current standard of care of “watch and wait” does not prevent or control the progression of disease, today announced the appointment of Barbara Ryan to its Board of Directors. In conjunction with this appointment, Robert Dempsey will step down as a Board member.
“Barbara is a recognized biopharmaceutical industry expert and veteran Wall Street professional, and her wealth of experience will be instrumental as we enter a new trajectory in the company’s growth,” said Kerrie Brady, Chief Executive Officer of OcuTerra. “We look forward to working with her as we move forward with Phase 2 clinical studies of OTT166 eye drops and progress toward achieving our goal of providing a non-invasive topical treatment for diabetic retinopathy patients.”
“On behalf of OcuTerra, I want to thank Bob for all of his hard work, contributions and dedication to OcuTerra over the past few years. He has been a tremendous asset to the Board as we navigated through important milestones which advanced us to where we are today as a company. He has decided to leave the Board to focus on other business obligations and we wish him all the best,” Ms. Brady added.
“It is my pleasure to welcome Barbara to OcuTerra’s Board and work with her as we execute our vision to develop an earlier intervention in diabetic retinopathy,” said Brent Saunders, Chairman of the Board of OcuTerra. “I have had the pleasure of working with Barbara previously and have seen her contributions firsthand. I look forward to her expert engagement and strategic insights in helping guide our strategic objectives.”
“I am very pleased to be joining the talented team at OcuTerra at this exciting time as we work to advance the clinical development of OTT166 as a potential treatment for patients with diabetic retinopathy,” said Ms. Ryan. “OcuTerra is exactly the type of company I aspire to work with as our goal is to bring potentially transformative treatments to patients with the potential to improve their quality of life.”
Ms. Ryan founded Barbara Ryan Advisors, a capital markets and communications firm, in 2012 following a more than 30-year career on Wall Street as a sell-side research analyst covering the US Large Cap Pharmaceutical Industry. Previously, she served as Managing Director at Deutsche Bank/Alex Brown and head of the company's Pharmaceutical Research Team for 19 years. Ms. Ryan has deep experience in equity and debt financings, M&A, valuation, SEC reporting, financial analysis, corporate and communications strategy across the life sciences industry and has raised over $1.5 billion in equity and convertible debt offerings. She has been involved in several of the pharmaceutical industry's largest M&A transactions such as Shire's takeover of Baxalta, Allergan's defense against Valeant and Perrigo's defense against Mylan. In addition, for more than 14 years, Ms. Ryan has served as a columnist and editorial advisory board member to Pharmaceutical Executive Magazine. Barbara also serves on the Boards of INVO Biosciences, MiNK Therapeutics, Safecor and Red Door Community (formerly Gilda’s Club NYC).
About OTT166
OTT166 is a novel, patented, potent and selective small molecule integrin inhibitor purpose engineered to have an optimum balance of physiochemical properties to allow it to distribute to the retina in high concentrations after topical (eye drop) administration to the eye. It selectively inhibits key integrin subtypes αvβ3, αvβ6 and αvβ8 to regulate cellular responses to VEGF and other growth factors known to contribute to development and progression of diabetic retinopathy and other ocular diseases. In early clinical studies in patients with diabetic retinal disease, OTT166 eye drops have demonstrated evidence of safety, tolerability, and biological activity.
About OcuTerra Therapeutics
OcuTerra Therapeutics, Inc. is developing innovative drugs for ophthalmic diseases for which the current standard of care does not prevent or control the progression of disease. Our initial therapeutic, OTT166, administered as an eye drop containing a novel integrin-inhibitor, is in clinical development to enable earlier intervention of diabetic retinopathy, a chronic, progressive disease that is one of the leading causes of vision loss globally. Our goal is to bring transformative treatments to clinicians and their patients who are consigned to watch and wait as disease progresses, ultimately requiring medically intensive and invasive therapy. www.ocuterratx.com
