— Vicken Karageozian, MD, Named President and Chief Medical Officer
— John Park, PhD, Named Chief Scientific Officer and Vice President of Manufacturing Development
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA — MARCH 15, 2016 — Allegro Ophthalmics, LLC, a late stage biotechnology company focused on the development of therapies to treat vitreoretinal diseases, today announced two promotions within the company’s senior management team. Vicken Karageozian, MD, formerly Chief Technical Officer (CTO), has been promoted to President and Chief Medical Officer, and John Park, PhD, formerly Vice President of Product Development, has been promoted to Chief Scientific Officer and Vice President of Manufacturing Development.
“Vicken and John have made significant contributions to Allegro that have resulted in the company’s growth and success to date,” says Hampar Karageozian, MSc, MBA, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Allegro Ophthalmics. “They have both demonstrated a strong commitment to bringing our drug development platform from concept to development and through multiple clinical trials, while successfully brokering key partnerships and raising capital. I’m proud to recognize their contributions with these promotions, and am confident that their leadership and vision will be instrumental in ensuring Allegro reaches our goals.”
“Allegro’s innovative approach to treating vitreoretinal diseases shows great promise,” says Dr. Karageozian. “The company has made significant progress to date, including moving its integrin peptide therapy from inception, through discovery, to demonstrating preclinical proof-of-concept, and establishing safety and efficacy in Phase 1/2 trials in multiple indications in less than six years. I am honored to lead the talented Allegro team in this new capacity and look forward to working diligently to reach our goals so that doctors and patients will be able to soon realize the benefits of our lead drug candidate, Luminate®.”
As President and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Karageozian will be responsible for the development and execution of Allegro’s corporate, clinical and financial strategies. Dr. Karageozian has more than 20 years’ experience building, leading, and fundraising companies in the ophthalmic pharmaceutical space. An ophthalmic surgeon by training, Dr. Karageozian is the co-founder of three ophthalmic biotech companies, including ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Vitreoretinal Technologies, Inc., and Allegro, and is the inventor or co-inventor of numerous ophthalmic pharmaceuticals with more than 20 patents issued on his drug discoveries. In addition, Dr. Karageozian has been instrumental in the raising of over $200M in venture and institutional capital.
Dr. Park will lead the scientific discovery, preclinical development and manufacturing development to support Allegro’s drug platform, including that of Luminate. Dr. Park’s experience spans four decades of bringing ophthalmic drugs from concept to market, specifically in research and development as well as product development. He served as principle research scientist at Allergan for 16 years and as Vice President of ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Vitreoretinal Technologies, and SK Biopharmaceuticals for 15 years where he was responsible for product development, manufacturing and quality control. Dr. Park also is the inventor or co-inventor of numerous ophthalmic pharmaceuticals with more than 20 patents issued on his drug discoveries.
“It is an honor to be a part of the Allegro organization in its mission to bring new and innovative therapies to market that will help the millions of people who are at risk of vision loss and blindness retain their vision,” says Dr. Park.
About Luminate
Luminate, a first-in-class integrin peptide therapy, treats vitreoretinal diseases by targeting integrin receptors involved in cell signaling and regulation and in the construction of new and aberrant blood vessels. By utilizing two mechanisms of action (vitreolysis and anti-angiogenesis), Luminate has been shown in clinical studies to date to effectively regress and inhibit new blood vessel formation, as well as reduce vascular leakage to maintain and restore vision. Currently in Phase 2 clinical trials for multiple indications, including diabetic macular edema (DME) and non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), Luminate is an investigational drug not approved by the FDA for commercial sale in the U.S. Allegro maintains commercial rights to Luminate in all territories outside of Japan, Korea and China.
About Allegro Ophthalmics, LLC
With more than 100 years of combined experience in ophthalmic drug discovery, development and manufacturing, Allegro Ophthalmics, LLC, is working to establish integrin peptide therapy as the next-generation pharmaceutical category for the treatment of vitreoretinal diseases. Allegro’s lead investigational drug, Luminate, is currently in Phase 2 studies and has the potential to significantly reduce the current burden of intravitreal injections and to be a viable option for patients with diabetic macular edema, diabetic retinopathy, wet age-related macular degeneration, and vitreomacular traction. By quickly, safely and cost-effectively bringing to market new and improved treatment options for leading causes of blindness, Allegro is committed to offering patients an improved quality of life sustained by self-sufficient, functional vision. For more information, visit allegroeye.com.
Luminate® is a registered trademark of Allegro Ophthalmics, LLC.
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