SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA —NOVEMBER 21, 2016 — Allegro Ophthalmics, LLC, a biotechnology company focused on the development of novel therapies to treat vitreoretinal diseases, today announced that William J. Link, PhD, has been elected to Allegro’s board of directors.
Dr. Link is co-founder and a managing director of Versant Ventures, a global healthcare investment firm where he specializes in early stage investing in medical devices. Prior to Versant, Dr. Link was a general partner at Brentwood Venture Capital. With more than two decades of operations experience in the healthcare industry, Dr. Link has a proven record of building and managing large, successful medical product companies, including Chiron Vision where he was co-founder, chairman and CEO until it was sold to Bausch + Lomb in 1997. In addition, Dr. Link founded and served as President of American Medical Optics (AMO), a division of American Hospital Supply Corporation, which was sold to Allergan in 1986.
“Bill is a pioneer in the healthcare industry and we are excited to welcome him to Allegro’s board of directors,” said Hampar Karageozian, MSc, MBA, co-founder and chief executive officer, Allegro Ophthalmics. “Bill’s vast experience and expertise in building and managing successful healthcare companies, particularly in the area of ophthalmology, will be a tremendous asset that will ensure Allegro’s continued success as we move our lead drug candidate Luminate® toward commercialization.”
“I have admired how Allegro’s dynamic leadership team has quickly and cost-effectively made significant progress in its Luminate® drug development program across multiple indications,” said Dr. Link. “With this recent progress, including last month’s news on the positive results from the DEL MAR Phase 2b DME trial, it is a very exciting time to join Allegro’s board of directors.”
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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