Australian biopharmaceutical company Opthea has announced a change in its leadership structure, with CEO Dr Megan Baldwin moving into a different role as the company begins formulating its commercial blueprint.
On 27 October, it was confirmed Baldwin would transition to founder and chief innovation officer. The appointments of US-based executives, Dr Frederic Guerard as CEO and Mr Peter Lang as CFO, were also announced as part of the reshuffle.
The company said this is reflective of a strategy to advance its US and global presence and commercialisation strategy for lead product candidate, sozinibercept (OPT-302).
Targeting wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) and diabetic macular oedema (DME), sozinibercept is in pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials. It is being developed for use in combination with anti-VEGF-A monotherapies to achieve broader inhibition of the VEGF family, with the goal of improving overall efficacy and demonstrating superior vision gains over what can be achieved by inhibiting VEGF-A alone.
According to a statement, Guerard and Lang are two well-respected healthcare executives with a record of building and growing organisations, guiding R&D pipelines, leading commercial operations and managing finances. They also have expertise in providing strategic direction and steering companies through critical corporate, clinical and commercial growth inflection points.
Dr Jeremy Levin, chairman of Opthea’s board, said the duo come to Opthea with impressive credentials to position Opthea for future growth.
“We are also excited to create a new and essential role for Megan to continue to enhance the opportunity for sozinibercept and Opthea’s pipeline of next generation therapeutics for retinal diseases. Megan has dedicated much of her career to making Opthea what it is today and continues to be a critical member of the leadership team and board of directors,” he said.
Baldwin said the restructuring was essential to advance Opthea’s commercialisation strategy.
“Recognising that Opthea is entering a critical stage of its corporate growth trajectory, with an expanded team in the US and increased focus on advancing the commercialisation strategy for sozinibercept, I am pleased to welcome both Frederic and Peter to their new roles and working with them to lead Opthea’s transition to its next phase of growth,” she said.
Guerard and Lang said their appointments as CEO and CFO, respectively, have come at a pivotal time for Opthea, due to the potential of OPT-302 in wet AMD treatment.
“I’m excited to join Opthea at such an important time for the company. I believe it’s now well-positioned to disrupt the eye disease treatment landscape highlighted by sozinibercept’s potential to become the first drug, when used in combination, to deliver superior visual gains compared to standard of care in wet AMD,” Guerard said.
“I wish to extend my gratitude to the Board for this opportunity and look forward to working with Megan, Peter and the entire team as we work to advance Opthea to ultimately become a premier ophthalmology company.”
Lang was honoured to have the opportunity to work with Guerard, Baldwin, the management team, and board to efficiently grow the business.
“The Opthea team continues to build a unique biotech and realise the full potential of its pipeline with a differentiated, first-in-class product candidate in the late stage of pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials addressing a real need for wet AMD patients,” he said.
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