WALTHAM, Mass., May 06, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EyeGate Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYEG) (“EyeGate” or the “Company”), a specialty pharmaceutical company that focuses on developing and commercializing therapeutics and drug delivery systems for treating diseases of the eye, today announced that, following the Company’s recent acquisition of Jade Therapeutics, former Jade Vice President of Research and Development, Dr. Brenda K. Mann, was named Vice President, Research and Development at EyeGate. Dr. Mann is responsible for overseeing the Company’s scientific development strategy, managing portfolio assets including early stage programs and building the company’s scientific direction.
“Brenda’s deep understanding of the Jade platform and significant experience in the use of hydrogels for wound healing and drug delivery made her an ideal fit for this position, and we are pleased that she agreed to join EyeGate,” said Stephen From, President and Chief Executive Officer of Eyegate Pharmaceuticals. “Her insight and expertise will be invaluable as we continue advancing the CMHA-S assets toward clinical trials. Our development programs are progressing according to plan, and we remain on track to initiate a clinical trial of our lead CMHA-S asset, JDE-003 for corneal repair, by the end of 2016.”
Dr. Mann joined Jade Therapeutics as a consultant in 2012, and became Vice President, Research & Development in 2015. In addition to her work at Jade, Dr. Mann was Vice President of Research and Development at SentrX Animal Care, a developer and manufacturer of biomaterials-based veterinary wound care products that she co-founded in 2006. She is also an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Bioengineering Department at the University of Utah and a registered patent agent. She has authored or co-authored over 25 publications and served as a reviewer for a number of biomedical and ophthalmic journals.
Dr. Mann received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, and completed her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at Rice University in Houston, Texas.
Dr. Mann added, “EyeGate is uniquely positioned in the ophthalmic space with a robust pipeline of clinical and preclinical assets. I am delighted to have joined the company at such an exciting time and I look forward to continuing our research efforts to further the development of the CMHA-S platform as well as the iontophoretic drug technology to treat diseases of the eye.”
About EyeGate:
EyeGate is a clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company that is focused on developing and commercializing therapeutics and drug delivery systems for treating diseases of the eye. EGP-437, the Company’s lead product candidate, incorporates a reformulated topically active corticosteroid, Dexamethasone Phosphate that is delivered into the ocular tissues through EyeGate’s proprietary innovative drug delivery system, the EyeGate® II Delivery System. In addition to EGP-437 and the EyeGate® II Delivery System, the Company is developing several preclinical candidates based on a proprietary Cross-Linked Hyaluronic Acid (CMHA-S) platform. The lead product based on this platform, JDE-003, is expected to enter clinical trials for the repair of corneal epithelial defects in late 2016. For more information, please visit www.EyeGatePharma.com.
Safe Harbor Statement:
Some of the statements in this press release are “forward-looking” and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These “forward-looking” statements include statements relating to, among other things, the commercialization efforts and other regulatory or marketing approval efforts pertaining to EyeGate’s products, including EyeGate’s EGP-437 combination product, and those of Jade Therapeutics, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of EyeGate, as well as the success thereof, with such approvals or success may not be obtained or achieved on a timely basis or at all. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from the statements set forth in this press release, including, among other things, certain risk factors described under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in EyeGate’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 30, 2016, or described in EyeGate’s other public filings. EyeGate’s results may also be affected by factors of which EyeGate is not currently aware. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. EyeGate expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to such statements to reflect any change in its expectations with regard thereto or any changes in the events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.