- Scott Jones Appointed as Chief Commercial Officer -
- Said Saim, Ph.D., Appointed as Chief Technology Officer -
WATERTOWN, Mass., June 10, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYPT), a specialty biopharmaceutical company committed to developing and commercializing innovative ophthalmic products, today announced the appointment of Scott Jones as Chief Commercial Officer and Said Saim, Ph.D., as Chief Technology Officer. Mr. Jones will be responsible for the commercialization of DEXYCU® (dexamethasone intraocular suspension) 9% for the treatment of post-operative inflammation following cataract surgery and YUTIQ® (fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal implant) 0.18 mg for the treatment of chronic non-infectious uveitis affecting the posterior segment of the eye, the Company’s two FDA-approved, commercially-launched ophthalmic products. Dr. Saim will be responsible for advancing EyePoint’s pipeline products and technology for ocular treatments from formulation, preclinical research up to clinical development, as well as pharmaceutical sciences, manufacturing and operations.
“Scott and Said both bring a wealth of experience and expertise in the specialty pharmaceutical industry, and we are pleased to welcome them to our growing team as we establish EyePoint’s status as a leading commercial-stage ophthalmology company,” said Nancy Lurker, President and Chief Executive Officer of EyePoint Pharmaceuticals. “The launches of our two ophthalmology products have been met with strong interest from both patients and treating physicians for these debilitating eye diseases. We look forward to leveraging Scott and Said’s respective expertise to drive growth of our market share for our newly-launched products and to continue the advancement of our pipeline to bring additional innovative products to market for treatments with high medical need.”
Mr. Jones brings to EyePoint significant experience commercializing drugs and devices globally. Most recently, he served as Chief Commercial Officer and Vice President, Business Development at Notal Vision, where he developed the commercial and growth strategy for the organization. Mr. Jones’ tenure at Notal Vision also included his role as President, in which he was responsible for developing a business model in the United States that would allow for a telemonitoring platform to be covered by Medicare. Before joining Notal Vision, Mr. Jones served as President of QLT Ophthalmics, where he built the strategy and infrastructure for a U.S. commercial operation. Prior to that, Mr. Jones was Executive Director, Health Policy at Novartis Pharmaceuticals, where his team was responsible for all policy issues relating to Medicare Part A, Part B and the Durable Medical Equipment Program. Mr. Jones also served as Executive Director and Head of Market Access and Government Affairs at Novartis Ophthalmics, as well as other roles of varying responsibility during his time at Novartis. Mr. Jones began his career with Geigy Pharmaceuticals as Medical Representative and subsequently as Hospital Sales Representative for Ciba-Geigy Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Jones received an M.A. in political science and a Certificate in Public Administration from the University of Florida, as well as a B.S. in chemistry.
“My past experiences in developing revenue generating ophthalmology companies has allowed me to develop skills pertinent to understanding customer and market needs and aligning those with an effective commercial and growth strategy,” said Mr. Jones. “EyePoint’s products offer astute solutions in medical areas that have previously suffered from inconvenient and burdensome treatment options. I look forward to working with the team at EyePoint to further progress the U.S. commercial launches already underway.”
Dr. Saim has more than 25 years of product development experience. He most recently served as Vice President, Pharmaceutical Development at Collegium Pharmaceutical, where his responsibilities included managing formulation development, clinical trial manufacturing, and commercial manufacturing for immediate, delayed and controlled release dosage forms. Prior to joining Collegium, Dr. Saim served as Senior Principal Scientist at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, where he led a team of engineers and scientists in charge of process development, scale up, and technology transfer of North American products. Prior to joining Boehringer Ingelheim, Dr. Saim was Assistant Research Professor at the Higuchi BioSciences Center for Drug Delivery Research. Dr. Saim has published 22 papers in engineering and science journals and holds 18 patents. Dr. Saim earned a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Kansas.
“EyePoint has successfully transformed into a fully-integrated, commercial-stage ophthalmology company, with two FDA-approved products now in the hands of patients and doctors in real-world settings,” commented Dr. Saim. “However, EyePoint’s mission to improve ophthalmology care does not end with these launches, as the Company is equally focused on developing the balance of its pipeline to continue to deliver innovative and paradigm-changing solutions to patients suffering from eye diseases. I am thrilled to play a role in the continued expansion of EyePoint’s pipeline of ophthalmic products.”
About EyePoint Pharmaceuticals
EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (formerly pSivida Corp.) (www.eyepointpharma.com), headquartered in Watertown, MA, is a specialty biopharmaceutical company committed to developing and commercializing innovative ophthalmic products in indications with high unmet medical need to help improve the lives of patients with serious eye disorders. With the approval by the FDA on October 12, 2018 of the YUTIQ® three-year treatment of chronic non-infectious uveitis affecting the posterior segment of the eye, the Company has developed five of the six FDA-approved sustained-release treatments for eye diseases. The most common adverse reactions reported for YUTIQ were cataract development and increases in intraocular pressure. DEXYCU® was approved by the FDA on February 9, 2018. DEXYCU, administered as a single intraocular dose at the end of ocular surgery for the treatment of postoperative inflammation, is the first and only FDA-approved intraocular product with this indication. The most common adverse reactions reported by 5-15% of patients were increased intraocular pressure, corneal edema and iritis. DEXYCU employs the Verisome® extended-release drug delivery technology, which encompasses a broad number of related, but distinct drug delivery systems with the potential of incorporating an extensive range of active agents, including small molecules, proteins and monoclonal antibodies. ILUVIEN® (fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal implant), a micro-insert for diabetic macular edema, licensed to Alimera Sciences, Inc. (“Alimera”), is currently sold directly in the U.S. and several EU countries. Retisert® (fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal implant), for non-infectious posterior segment uveitis, is licensed to and sold by Bausch & Lomb, Inc. The Company's pre-clinical development program is focused on using its core Durasert™ and the Verisome platform technologies to deliver drugs to treat wet age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, and other diseases. To learn more about the Company, please visit www.eyepointpharma.com and connect on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Google+.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENTS UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION ACT OF 1995: Various statements made in this release are forward-looking, and are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties and potentially inaccurate assumptions. All statements that address activities, events or developments that we intend, expect, plan or believe may occur in the future, including but not limited to statements about our commercialization of YUTIQ and DEXYCU, the potential for our products to alter the treatment landscape for ocular diseases; the expected use of proceeds from our debt refinancing and equity offering and our optimism that our existing cash and cash equivalents at April 30, 2019 and cash inflows from anticipated YUTIQ and DEXYCU product sales will be sufficient to fund our operations through to the generation of positive cash flow in 2020, are forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed, anticipated or implied in our forward-looking statements are risks and uncertainties inherent in our business including, without limitation: our ability to achieve profitable operations and access to needed capital; fluctuations in our operating results; our ability to successfully produce sufficient commercial quantities of YUTIQ and DEXYCU and to successfully commercialize YUTIQ and DEXYCU in the U.S.; our ability to sustain and enhance an effective commercial infrastructure and enter into and maintain commercial agreements for YUTIQ and DEXYCU; the regulatory approval and successful release of our YUTIQ line extension shorter-duration treatment for non-infectious uveitis affecting the posterior segment of the eye; potential off-label sales of ILUVIEN for non-infectious uveitis affecting the posterior segment of the eye; consequences of fluocinolone acetonide side effects for YUTIQ; consequences of dexamethasone side effects for DEXYCU; successful commercialization of, and receipt of revenues from, ILUVIEN for diabetic macular edema, or DME; Alimera’s ability to obtain additional marketing approvals and the effect of pricing and reimbursement decisions on sales of ILUVIEN for DME; Alimera’s ability to commercialize ILUVIEN for non-infectious uveitis affecting the posterior segment of the eye in the territories in which Alimera is licensed to do so; potential declines in Retisert royalties; our ability to market and sell products; the success of current and future license agreements; termination or breach of current license agreements; our dependence on contract research organizations, contract sales organizations, vendors and investigators; effects of competition and other developments affecting sales of products; market acceptance of products; effects of guidelines, recommendations and studies; protection of intellectual property and avoiding intellectual property infringement; retention of key personnel; product liability; industry consolidation; compliance with environmental laws; manufacturing risks; risks and costs of international business operations; volatility of stock price; possible dilution; absence of dividends; and other factors described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We cannot guarantee that the results and other expectations expressed, anticipated or implied in any forward-looking statement will be realized. A variety of factors, including these risks, could cause our actual results and other expectations to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed, anticipated or implied in our forward-looking statements. Should known or unknown risks materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove inaccurate, actual results could differ materially from past results and those anticipated, estimated or projected in the forward-looking statements. You should bear this in mind as you consider any forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the dates on which they are made. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise our forward-looking statements even if experience or future changes makes it clear that any projected results expressed or implied in such statements will not be realized.
Contacts
Investors:
Argot Partners
Kimberly Minarovich
(646) 368-8014
kimberly@argotpartners.com
Joseph Rayne
(617) 340-6075
joseph@argotpartners.com
Media:
Thomas Gibson
(201) 476-0322
tom@tomgibsoncommunications.com
Source: EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
