Oculis appoints Mr. Webb Ding as Global Chief Operating Officer and
General Manager (China)
- Former Fresenius-Kabi China President to join Oculis in February 2022 to lead global operations and the company’s business in China
- Will be based in Oculis’ office in Hong Kong, further strengthening the global team’s presence in Asia
LAUSANNE, Switzerland, January 5, 2022 – Oculis S.A. (“Oculis”), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing transformative ophthalmic treatments to improve the sight and lives of patients, announces the appointment of Mr. Webb Ding as global Chief Operating Officer and General Manager, China, with effect from February 1, 2022. Mr. Ding brings vast healthcare leadership experience, with a specific focus on China market.
Mr. Ding will join the Oculis Executive Leadership Team, where his decades of experience in multinational pharmaceutical company operations will help drive the company forward as it continues to develop its product pipeline and scale globally. The appointment of Mr. Ding also further strengthens Oculis’ development efforts in the Greater China region, following the establishment of a Hong Kong presence earlier in the year.
Riad Sherif, M.D., CEO of Oculis, said: “We are delighted to have Webb join Oculis as our global Chief Operating Officer and General Manager, China. He brings decades of experience in healthcare across multiple segments, including unique experiences in successful brand launches and portfolio build up in the Greater China market. His in-depth knowledge of business development and licensing will be an invaluable asset to our global executive leadership team as we continue to develop a portfolio of transformative ophthalmology treatments to improve the sight and lives of patients.”
Webb Ding added: “I am excited to be joining Oculis, a company dedicated to transforming the lives of patients impacted by eye diseases. There are many patients around the world in need of effective, safe and easy-to-administer topical eye medicines such as those currently being developed by Oculis. I look forward to helping to bring these much-needed treatments to patients as soon as possible.”
Mr. Ding has more than 25 years of experience in general management, successful go-to-market strategies, business development and licensing, and operational excellence across multiple healthcare segments. He joins Oculis from Fresenius-Kabi, one of the top 10 multinational pharmaceutical companies in China, where he served as Country President for China, building market leadership and a strong competitive portfolio. Prior to Fresenius-Kabi, Mr. Ding spent more than 10 years with Novartis in China in leadership roles of increasing responsibility, culminating in his appointment as General Manager of Novartis Vaccines Greater China and Tianyuan Bio-Pharma. Mr. Ding was also a member of the Global Executive Committee of Novartis Vaccines.
Prior to Novartis, Mr. Ding held various senior roles in sales, marketing and distribution at major pharmaceutical companies in China including Bristol Myers Squibb and Xi’an Janssen (a Johnson & Johnson company).
Mr. Ding gained his Bachelor of Science in biochemistry from Wuhan University and completed an EMBA at the China Europe International Business School.
-ENDS-
Photo available on request
About Oculis
Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland with global operations in Europe, the U.S. and China, Oculis is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing transformative innovative ophthalmic treatments to improve the sight and lives of patients. Oculis has a robust and expansive development portfolio including late-stage novel topical (eye drop) treatments, which are non-invasive and represent an unprecedented technical advance for patients with retinal edema and front-of-the-eye diseases. In addition, Oculis’ formulation discovery and innovation capabilities enable the development of a pipeline of topical drugs targeting sight-threatening eye diseases that affect both the anterior and posterior segments of the eye.
To learn more, please visit www.oculis.com
Contacts
Oculis
Dr. Riad Sherif, CEO
riad.sherif@oculis.com
Sylvia Cheung, CFO
sylvia.cheung@oculis.com
Louie-Anne Gauthier, VP, Strategic Marketing and BD&L
louie-anne.gauthier@oculis.com
Media Relations
SPRG
Esther Chan, Cindy Lung, Brigid Lee
oculis@sprg.com.hk
Consilium Strategic Communications
Amber Fennell, Matthew Cole, Allison Connolly
oculis@consilium-comms.com
