LAUSANNE, Switzerland, March 03, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oculis S.A., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to develop novel topical treatments (eye drops) for ophthalmic diseases, today announced the appointment of Marcia de Souza Lima, M.D., M.I.P.P., as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. de Souza Lima, an ophthalmologist by training, brings extensive leadership experience in medical affairs, clinical trial management and development, strategic corporate planning and partnership development.

“We are delighted to welcome Marcia to Oculis,” said Riad Sherif, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Oculis. “She brings a strong track record in the development of ophthalmologic treatments and complementary experience in areas of increasing importance to the Company. Marcia’s appointment is particularly timely as we have recently presented positive Phase 2 data on OCS-01, a topical treatment for diabetic macular edema (DME) and are preparing to advance that program into late-stage clinical development. We look forward to her leadership in advancing this program, as well as our other late-stage clinical programs with other novel topical therapies in post cataract surgery inflammation, uveitis and dry eye disease.”

Dr. de Souza Lima joins Oculis with more than 15 years of experience in the pharmaceutical, medical device and global healthcare sectors. Before Oculis, she served as Vice President, Head Global Medical Affairs for the global ophthalmology franchise at Shire, where she oversaw the medical activities for pipeline and leading commercial products such as Xiidra^®, including strategy development, medical communications, resource allocation, and multi-country medical launch readiness activities.

Prior to Shire, former positions include Senior Medical Director at Regenxbio, leading the development of a phase I clinical trial and clinical development planning. She has also worked at Novartis, Pfizer, Bausch+Lomb and Ancile Pharmaceuticals, in senior global and US-focused medical and clinical development leadership roles. She was the Chief Medical Officer of The ReLeef Initiative, a nonprofit startup pharmaceutical company that employed an innovative business model for the development of health products to benefit underserved populations in developing countries. As Deputy Director at the Sabin Vaccine Institute, she managed operations such as fundraising, health policy advocacy and public health grants. Dr. de Souza Lima obtained an M.D. from the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil, completed a clinical research fellowship and a certificate of clinical trial design and management at the University of California, San Diego, and received a Master of International Public Policy (MIPP) from Johns Hopkins University.

“Oculis has a very exciting proposition in developing non-invasive therapeutic options that are designed for patients with ophthalmic diseases affecting the back- or front-of-the-eye,” said Dr. de Souza Lima. “I am eager to join the highly skilled management team at Oculis during this very exciting time and look forward to applying my expertise to help the Company further advance its multiple programs through clinical development and bringing novel topical treatments to patients.”

About Oculis

Oculis is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to develop novel topical treatments (eye drops) for ophthalmic diseases for both back- and front-of-the-eye in order to improve the sight and lives of patients worldwide. These topical treatments represent an unprecedented technical advance for patients with back-of-the-eye diseases that are currently managed only by intra-ocular injections or implants; while topical treatments for front-of-the-eye disease are designed to improve patient outcomes by increasing drug bioavailability, reducing dosing frequency and improving patient compliance.

The company’s leading clinical candidates include, OCS-01 and OCS-02. OCS-01 has shown positive Phase 2 results in DME and is also in Phase 2 for Pain and Inflammation following ocular surgery.

OCS-02 is a novel topical anti-TNF alpha antibody in advanced Phase 2 that has shown efficacy in inflammatory eye diseases and was in-licensed from Novartis.

In addition to its lead clinical candidates, Oculis’ proprietary Solubilizing NanoParticle (SNP) technology enables the formulation of drugs as topical treatments and enhances their bioavailability in the relevant eye tissues. The Company is leveraging this proprietary technology to generate a pipeline of topical drugs targeting sight-threatening eye diseases.

Oculis has an experienced management team from global ophthalmic companies and is supported by leading international life science investors. Oculis is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, with research operations in Reykjavik, Iceland.

To learn more visit www.oculis.com

Contacts

Oculis
Dr. Riad Sherif, CEO
riad.sherif@oculis.com  
Louie-Anne Gauthier, VP, Strategic Marketing and BD&L
louie-anne.gauthier@oculis.com 

Investor Relations
Burns McClellan
John Grimaldi
212-213-0006 x362
jgrimaldi@burnsmc.com 

Media Relations
Burns McClellan
Ryo Imai / Robert Flamm
212-213-0006 x315 / 212-213-0006 x364
rimai@burnsmc.com / rflamm@burnsmc.com