WALTHAM, Mass., Oct. 23, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EyeGate Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYEG) (“EyeGate” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage, specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing products using two proprietary platform technologies for treating diseases and disorders of the eye, has appointed two distinguished leaders in the ophthalmic space, Vance Thompson, MD and Paul Karpecki, OD, FAAO, to its scientific advisory board.
Barbara Wirostko M.D., Chief Medical Officer of EyeGate commented, “We expect Dr. Thompson’s and Dr. Karpecki’s extensive experience and vast knowledge of the cornea, dry eye, and anterior segment to be invaluable as we continue progress in development of our product candidates EyeGate OBG and EGP-437. We look forward to working alongside these exceptionally talented individuals to further the advancement of our pipeline.”
Dr. Karpecki is a prominent voice in optometry with over 20 years of experience. Currently he serves as Director of Cornea Services for Kentucky Eye Institute in Lexington KY, The Ocular Surface Disease Center at the Gaddie Eye Centers in Louisville KY as well as an Associate Professor at the Kentucky College of Optometry. In 2016, he was appointed as co-chair of the Tear Film and Ocular Surface Society Symposium in Montpellier, France and served as a member of the Diagnosis Sub-committee for TFOS DEWS II.
He is also chief clinical editor and director of clinical content for Review of Optometry, as well as chairman of the New Technology and Treatment Conferences. He serves on the board for the charitable organization Optometry Giving Sight and has delivered over 1,000 lectures and authored over 1,000 papers. Previously, he served as co-chair for the Dry Eye Summit, Director for the CJO Optometric Dry Eye Guidelines for Eye Care.
Dr. Karpecki earned his doctor of optometry degree from Indiana University. He completed a fellowship in medical cornea and refractive surgery from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. He was one of two optometrists appointed to the Delphi International Society at Wilmer-Johns Hopkins, which included the top 25 dry eye experts in the world.
Dr. Vance Thompson is renowned globally for his thought leadership in laser vision correction and advanced cataract surgery. Currently, he is the Director of Refractive Surgery for Vance Thompson Vision in Sioux Falls, Idaho and a Professor of Ophthalmology at the Sanford USD School of Medicine. Dr. Thompson has been instrumental in research and development of the most advanced corneal and refractive technologies and techniques associated with laser and implant vision correction. He has served as the medical monitor lead or principal investigator in over 70 FDA monitored clinical trials studying laser and implant surgery. Additionally, Dr. Thompson has lectured and published numerous papers and book chapters on improvements in laser and intraocular surgery, including being co-author of the textbook Refractive Surgery.
Dr. Thompson received his BS in Chemistry and his MD degree from the University of South Dakota. Following the accomplishment of his ophthalmology residency at the University of Missouri/Columbia, he completed a fellowship in Refractive and Cataract Surgery from Hunkeler Eye Centers in Kansas City.
Eyegate's scientific advisory board is comprised of prominent physicians and scientists who provide scientific and clinical counsel on the advancement of the Company’s product pipeline. Other members include Daniel Durrie, MD; C. Stephen Foster, MD; Randall J Olson, MD; Jean-Marie Parel, PhD and Michael Raizman, MD.
About EyeGate
EyeGate is a clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing products using its two proprietary platform technologies for treating diseases and disorders of the eye.
EyeGate’s most advanced platform is based on a cross-linked thiolated carboxymethyl hyaluronic acid (“CMHA-S”), a modified form of the natural polymer hyaluronic acid (“HA”), which is a gel that possesses unique physical and chemical properties such as hydrating and healing when applied to the ocular surface. The ability of CMHA-S to adhere longer to the ocular surface, resist degradation and protect the ocular surface makes it well-suited for treating various ocular surface injuries.
EGP-437, EyeGate’s other product in clinical trials, 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. For more information, please visit www.EyeGatePharma.com.
EyeGate Social Media
EyeGate uses its website (www.EyeGatePharma.com), Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ EyeGatePharma/), corporate Twitter account (https://twitter.com/EyeGatePharma), and LinkedIn page (https://www.linkedin.com/company/135892/) as channels of distribution of information about EyeGate and its product candidates. Such information may be deemed material information, and EyeGate may use these channels to comply with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Therefore, investors should monitor EyeGate’s website and its social media accounts in addition to following its press releases, SEC filings, public conference calls, and webcasts. The social media channels that EyeGate intends to use as a means of disclosing the information described above may be updated from time to time as listed on EyeGate’s investor relations website.
Forward-looking Statements
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 our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 23, 2017 or described in our other public filings. Our results may also be affected by factors of which we are 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.
Contact:
Lee Roth / Janhavi Mohite
The Ruth Group for EyeGate Pharmaceuticals
646-536-7012 / 7026
lroth@theruthgroup.com / jmohite@theruthgroup.com