Ocuphire Pharma, Inc. announced it has terminated CEO and President Mina Sooch and replaced her with Board of Directors member Rick Rodgers, who will assume interim leadership of the company.
Wait … what?
Yup. The company announced the transition in an April 21, 2023, news release; however, no mention of reasoning behind the sudden change was noted.
What’s the (now) former president/CEO?
Mina Sooch co-founded Ocuphire in 2016 and served on its board since 2018.
She remains listed on the company’s Board of Directors, where her tenure as CEO/president is listed from 2018 to April 19, 2023.
Tell me about this new (interim) leader.
Rodgers’ experience in biopharmaceutical management spans 20+ years. He was co-founder, executive vice president, chief financial officer (CFO), secretary, and treasurer of the biopharmaceutical company Tesaro (acquired by GSK in 2018) from 2010 to 2013.
Most recently, Rodgers served on Ocuphire’s board as chair of the Audit Committee as well as member of the Compensation Committee (since its 2020 merger with Rexahn Pharmaceuticals).
See here for more on his background.
Give me the big picture.
In just the last few months, Ocuphire entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Famy Life Sciences Inc. (which has since been acquired by Viatris Inc.) for Nyxol eye drops for $35 million (plus milestone payments).
Further, Ocuphire is currently working toward an end-of-phase 2 meeting with the FDA to finalize their phase 3 design and plans for registration of APX3330, the company’s diabetic retinopathy (DR) oral candidate.
Significance?
According to Rodgers: “If approved, APX3330 has the potential to be a valuable non-injection option” for DR patients.
What’s in the company’s pipeline?
See here for an updated list.
Of note, the new drug application (NDA) for 0.75% Nyxol eye drop for the reversal of pharmacologically-induced mydriasis (RM) has a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) date of September 28, 2023.
Anything else to know?
Ocuphire stated that it has retained an executive search firm to assist in selecting a permanent CEO.