Opthea Limited announced the formation of its Medical Advisory Board (“MAB”) composed of 10 retina thought leaders from countries around the world including the US, Argentina, Australia, China, France, Germany, and Israel.
Chaired by Arshad M. Khanani, MD, MA, FASRS, Chief Medical Advisor of Opthea, the MAB’s role is to advise the Company on opportunities to address the unmet medical needs of patients with retinal diseases and to inform the Company’s development efforts, such as the sozinibercept clinical program in wet AMD.
“We appreciate the support from world-renowned experts in retinal diseases to advise us on the short- and long-term strategic direction of our pipeline and development efforts,” said Frederic Guerard, PharmD, CEO of Opthea. “Our vision is to help people with retinal diseases see better by advancing bold therapeutic innovations and inspiring transformation within the global retinal community.
Opthea’s new Medical Advisory Board will be a valuable resource for our team to learn from the scientific insights and clinical practice of the appointed retinal experts.”
The formation of the MAB comes at a crucial stage for the company as it prepares for phase 3 topline data read-out of its two pivotal trials of sozinibercept in wet AMD (COAST in early Q2 calendar year 2025 and ShORE in mid-calendar year 2025) and continues to advance BLA and go-to-market preparations.
Opthea’s newly formed MAB consists of the following members:
David S. Boyer, MD, is a Board-certified ophthalmologist specializing in the treatment of diseases of the retina and vitreous, and a leading clinical researcher for new treatments in macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema. He is Senior Partner at the Retina-Vitreous Associates Medical Group, and an Adjunct Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology with the University of Southern California/Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles, California.
Andrew Chang, AM, MBBS (Hons), PhD FRANZCO, FRACS, is a vitreoretinal surgeon and ophthalmologist. He holds academic appointments of Conjoint Professor of the Department of Surgery UNSW and clinical associate professor at the University of Sydney. He is a consultant ophthalmologist and the head of Ophthalmology at the Sydney Eye Hospital, and the medical director of Sydney Retina Clinic, Australia.
Frank G. Holz, MD, FEBO, FARVO, is professor and chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Bonn, Germany. His main research interests include the pathogenesis, structural and functional biomarkers and new therapies for macular and retinal diseases. His major clinical interest is medical and surgical retina. He also founded the GRADE Reading Center as well as the Medical Imaging Center Bonn (MIB), with a focus on innovative retinal imaging technologies and image analysis strategies.
Anat Loewenstein, MD, MHA, is professor and director of the Division of Ophthalmology at the Tel Aviv Medical Center, VP Ambulatory Services at the Tel Aviv Medical Center, Sidney Fox Chair of Ophthalmology at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University, Israel, and President of EURETINA. Her main field of interest is the investigation of drug administration and toxicity to the retina, early detection of macular degeneration and home monitoring of retinal disease.
Dante Pieramici, MD, is a managing partner at California Retina Consultants and a member of the Medical Leadership Board of the Retina Consultants of America. As the medical director of Clinical Research at California Retina Consultants, he has served as a principal or sub-investigator in over 100 clinical trials. He has also served as an advisor to multiple pharmaceutical companies, helping design and evaluate clinical trials, and has served on several data and safety monitoring committees.
Carl Regillo, MD, is the director of the Retina Service Unit of Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, professor of Ophthalmology at Thomas Jefferson University School of Medicine, as well as founder and former Director of the Wills Eye Clinical Retina Research Unit. As the principal investigator of numerous international clinical trials, he investigates new forms of treatment for macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and a variety of other retinal conditions.
Patricio G. Schlottmann, MD, is ophthalmology director and retina specialist at the Medical University, as well as head of Clinical Research at the Charles Research Center of Ophthalmology, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is also a professor of the Evidence-Based Medicine Advanced Course in Ophthalmology at the University of Buenos Aires and the course director for OCT and Images of the Argentina Society of Ophthalmology. He has served as the principal investigator for several landmark retina trials.
Tien Y Wong, MD, PhD, is a practicing retinal specialist with a research portfolio on retinal diseases, ocular imaging, artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technology. He serves as chair professor and the Founding Head of Tsinghua Medicine at Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. Professor Wong also serves as an advisor to the Singapore Health Services and the Singapore National Eye Center, one of the largest eye-care hospitals globally.
Eric Souied MD, PhD, is the head of the Ophthalmology Department at the Intercommunal Hospital of Créteil and Henri Mondor Hospital. He is also professor of ophthalmology at the University of Paris-Est Creteil. His main areas of expertise are medical retina, including AMD, inherited macular and retinal dystrophies, as well as retinal and cataract surgery. He is recognized as the leading international expert in the field of exudative AMD.
Learn more about the MAB on Opthea’s website: https://opthea.com/company/