Yari Mitchell spent nearly 13 years with AcuFocus, an ophthalmic device company, before overseeing its acquisition by Bausch + Lomb. As head of Y Factor Consulting, she now helps innovators move their product from the lab to a funded company. Greg Kunst, President and CEO of Aurion Biotech, a cell therapy company, led the start-up to a $120 million raise in 2022. Both Mitchell and Kunst sat down with host Carey Powers to discuss two topics they’re more than familiar with: raising capital and...

Wesley Jackson, PhD, spent years conducting post-doctoral research and writing grants, all the while setting the wheels in motion to launch Valitor. Valitor is developing VLTR-557 a long-lasting anti-VEGF. The technology platform, a multivalent polymer (MVP), is integral to VLTR-557. With Firas Rahhal, MD, Dr. Jackson shares why he stuck with the science behind Valitor during his PhD studies and beyond. He also discusses why he kept his sights set on entrepreneurship while his colleagues...

Aziz Mottiwala, Chief Commercial Officer of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, says the company looks for honest unmet needs when deciding what targets to explore. It also looks for opportunities to be the first or the best. The company may meet both objectives with TP-03, an antiparasitic agent developed to treat Demodex blepharitis, among other conditions. Mottiwala describes lotilaner, the molecule behind TP-03 and other Tarsus therapies, as a “pipeline in a molecule.” The company is evaluating...

Daniela Ferrara, Principal Medical Director at Genentech, calls her extensive medical training in Brazil her “north star.” Yet, she was frustrated by the limitations of clinical practice.   “Having patients go blind under my watch, I realized I would never defeat blindness through practice,” she said. She turned her attention to clinical research, where her work could potentially improve the health of many rather than the few. More recently, with a focus on applying artificial intelligence...

Host Carey Powers caught up with two digital health experts right after the Digital Ophthalmic Society (DOS) Digital Day program at the recent ASCRS conference in San Diego, California: Ranya Habash, MD, cofounder of MetaMed, DOS board member, and CEO of LifeLong Vision SPAC; and David Rhew, Global Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Healthcare at Microsoft. On today’s podcast, the two thought leaders gave a quick recap of Digital Day before diving into how physicians can actually use...

Innovation happens in labs, workshops, and garages worldwide. How does it happen in a global enterprise like Johnson & Johnson? Christoph Vonwiller, President of the Asia Pacific Region for Johnson & Johnson Vision, sheds light on that topic during a conversation with host Sophia Pathai, MD, PhD. As he sees it, start-ups and academic researchers stay laser-focused on solving a specific problem. They’re agile. They fail and succeed fast. A large, innovation-focused organization...

Brian Culley, CEO of Lineage Cell Therapeutics, describes his company’s approach as “replace and restore.” In certain settings, replacing whole cells may provide restorative benefits that go beyond small molecule drugs, or even anti-VEGF therapies. Replacing dysfunctional or lost cell types with manufactured cells of the same type can restore activity. That means a potential reversal of disease progression rather than a slower road to vision loss. Lineage has taken this approach to...

For today’s episode, the newest addition to the OIS Podcast team, Carey Powers, sits down with the newest additions to the Staar Surgical team: Warren Foust, Chief Operating Officer; and Magda Michna, PhD, Chief Clinical, Regulatory, and Medical Affairs Officer. Starr has led the way in implantable lenses for over 40 years, but like many medical device companies, not many patients have heard of them. That’s changing now that Staar has doubled down on direct-to-consumer advertising. To date,...

Nataša Jovic has led marketing strategies for retina products since the launch of Visudyne. Approved by the FDA in 2002, Visudyne was the first commercially available therapy to treat wet AMD.   Today, Jovic applies her scientific background and retina experience to lead marketing and commercial operations for RetinAI, a software company that supports R&D initiatives. As a retina specialist, OIS podcast host Firas Rahhal, MD, wanted to know: what’s the deal with AI? How can it help me in...

Cedric Francois, MD, PhD, is the cofounder, CEO, and president of Apellis, the company behind Syfovre, the first FDA-approved treatment for geographic atrophy. Like many, his path to the top of a successful publicly traded pharmaceutical company did not come fast or easy. He learned the hard way not to rely on “soft commitments” when funding a new venture. He also learned that good instincts and a better bottle of wine can go a long way toward persuading angel investors to open their...

Jodbhir (Jod) Mehta, PhD, is the Head of the Tissue Engineering and Stem Cell Group at the  Singapore Eye Research Institute and Head of the Corneal Service and Senior Consultant in  the Refractive Service of the Singapore National Eye Center (SNEC). Dr. Mehta, a corneal and refractive surgery expert, has spent most of his career in Singapore, a small, thriving nation with one of the most successful healthcare systems in the world. But he trained in London and Birmingham, England. Dr. Mehta...

When Barry Linder, MD, was an ophthalmologist with Kaiser Permanente, he saw a familiar pattern. Patients with dry eye disease usually had Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). They were advised to place a wet warm washcloth over the eyelids twice a day. They’d inevitably abandon the protocol after a few days. Thinking there had to be a better way, he developed the EyeGenie, a simple but effective eye mask that delivers continuous heat for up to 15 minutes. For patients with moderate to severe...

If ophthalmology clinical trials were burgers, mitomycin would be the mustard at the table of every U.S. restaurant with a burger on the menu.* Using this analogy, Mitsol, developed and manufactured by Mobius Therapeutics, is the only FDA-approved mitomycin-c “mustard” formulation with an ophthalmic indication. In reality, the mitomycin story in ophthalmology is more complicated than that, says Ed Timm, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Mobius Therapeutics. Mitomycin-c is used by ophthalmologists...

In pharma, it takes many failures to achieve one breakthrough. Dompé, a family-owned global biopharmaceutical company, focuses on long-term success, knowing those wins impact thousands or even millions of patients. Gianluca Rossetti, Strategic Planning & Corporate Business Development Director at Dompé, was drawn by the company’s ambition, passion, and commitment to innovation and science. Today, he uses his management consulting background to guide the company’s business strategy, lead...

Dompé, a family-owned global biopharmaceutical company with roots that date back over 150 years, built its legacy by following two principles: take calculated risks, and focus on need rather than precedent. Georgea Pasedis, PharmD, RPh, Dompé’s Senior Vice President and Global Head of Medical Affairs, moved into her current role by following similar principles. After earning her PharmD and practicing at the renowned Mass Eye and Ear in Boston, Dr. Psedis determined she could make a broader...

As Vice President and General Manager of U.S. Surgical for Bausch + Lomb, Anthony Wallace is involved in virtually all things surgical. His day-to-day includes strategy, portfolio planning, R&D alignment, acquisitions, pricing and contracting, sales and marketing, and supply chain. On top of all that, he’s one of the key executives leading Bausch + Lomb’s five-year charge: double the number of patients reached from 2 million to 4 million. During a candid discussion with podcast host and...

Today’s podcast shines the spotlight on the front of the eye, focusing new treatments and approaches to dry eye disease, blepharitis, and Sjogren's Syndrome, to name a few. Kelly Nichols, OD, PhD, dean of the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry, guides a panel of four clinical and industry experts through a robust conversation on ocular surface disease. They start by sharing their optimism around new treatments and awareness initiatives. Jeffrey Nau, PhD, president of the...

Myopia has escalated to epidemic proportions with a global prevalence twice that of obesity. A study published in JAMA Ophthalmology in 2021 found the prevalence of myopia in six-year-old children in China jumped from 5.7% between 2015 and 2019 to 21.5% in 2020.   Given myopia affects about 40% of Americans and up to 90% of the East and Southeast Asians, it’s time to pick up the pace on education, treatment, and management.   At OIS XII in San Diego, a panel of experts discussed how the eye...

Robert Avery, MD, CEO of California Retina Consultants, balances roles as physician and researcher with a lucrative additional career: advising life sciences companies and ophthalmology focused venture capital funds.   With colleague and podcast host Firas Rahhal, MD, Dr. Avery talks about how he got into the business side of medicine. He also looks back over 30 years of retina, which includes pioneering the use of anti-VEGF agents for retinal disease. Looking forward, Dr. Avery shares his...

CooperVision’s Global Head of Myopia Management Strategy, Rajeev Garg, made a bold move over a decade ago. After a fruitful career in R&D for Abbott and Merck, he got his MBA and transitioned to the commercial side.   It worked out well. He led global teams for Johnson & Johnson and Bausch + Lomb before joining one of the industry’s leading contact lens makers.   With ophthalmologist and venture capitalist Ehsan Sadri, MD, Rajeev shares CooperVision’s path forward for myopia...

Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is the only modifiable risk factor for glaucoma. The more IOP data, the better physicians can evaluate treatment impact, which is critical to preserving vision. Implandata Ophthalmic Products GmbH developed the eyemate® technology platform to fill that need. The implantable sensor, powered and read by a hand-held device, allows physicians to monitor IOP between visits. Implandata CEO and cofounder, Max Ostermeier, discussed the technology and the gap it...

Applications of the metaverse go far beyond gaming and social media. In healthcare and life sciences, innovative physicians and researchers are exploring its potential to accomplish the following:   Enhance decentralized clinical trialsDevelop precision medicine therapiesImprove surgical navigation e.g., to perfect a surgical route before treating the patientEnhance surgical education, training, and mentoringAs part of connected care and virtual careTo create medical storefronts  Because...

With extensive experience as both a medical and technology professional, Khizer Khaderi, MD, MPH, could be described as either a technology whiz who practices medicine or an ophthalmologist pursuing technology. In reality, he falls into a field all his own, combining what he knows about sports performance, vision, and advanced technology into a career that currently includes teaching, research, and leading an AI start-up (Vizzario). Dr. Khaderi is the clinical associate professor at the...

Fuchs Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy (FECD), a progressive hereditary disease that causes blurred or cloudy vision and vision loss, has no cure other than transplant of endothelial layer. David Eveleth, PhD, founder, president, and CEO of Trefoil Therapeutics, wants to change that. The company’s lead product, TTHX1114, has the potential to medically treat FECD and other corneal dystrophies without transplant. If successful, they’ll give patients an alternative to surgery as well as improve...

Podcast Description: More than 300 clinical thought leaders, pharma industry executives, and ophthalmology investors gathered recently in San Diego, CA, for OIS XII.  In addition to announcing pivotal new data, presenters discussed drug and device innovations, advances in clinical trials, and how to gain or maintain a competitive edge in today’s market. For this week’s OIS Podcast, surgeon Ehsan Sadri, MD, co-founder of Visionary Ventures; and Sharon Bakalash, MD, PhD, founder and CEO of SB...