(PRESS RELEASE) EL SEGUNDO, CA — Kip Crecca, vice president of sales, North America at STAAR Surgical has joined the Ocular Science board of directors. The Southern California biotech specializes in developing easy to use ophthalmic products that are cost-effective and promote patient compliance. Crecca’s appointment is designed to lend insight and industry commercialization proficiency to Ocular Science and its affiliated PCAB-accredited 503A compounding pharmacy OSRX, said Ocular Science founder and CEO Anthony Sampietro.
“Our board is composed of the most accomplished medical minds in ophthalmology. With Kip’s arrival, we’re adding nearly two decades of medical device sales expertise,” said Sampietro. “Kip’s skillset ranges from working with surgeons to years of business development that will add a unique perspective to our board. Kip and I have been associates for quite a few years and I’ve watched him emerge as one of the top sales professionals in our industry. It’s exciting to welcome him to our team.”
Crecca spent more than 10 years at Abbott Medical Optics, where, as strategic accounts manager, U.S., he built and directed the organization’s national sales team. Once Abbott was purchased by Johnson & Johnson, Crecca managed their cataract and refractive portfolio across the eastern third of the U.S. In 2018, he became vice president of sales for STAAR Surgical, which designs, develops, manufactures and markets implantable lenses that lessen dependence on glasses and contact lenses.
“Anthony and I worked together at J&J, and I was there when he recognized a need for simple-to-use, affordable ophthalmic products and decided to start his own company (in 2016). I’ve closely followed his tremendous success and sustained year-over-year growth,” says Crecca. “I’m honored to now join the Ocular Science board – an impressive group of luminaries across the eye care industry. I’m excited to share my commercialization and development expertise to help Ocular Science continue its remarkable growth trajectory.”
OSRX, an Ocular Science affiliate, is a 503A compounding pharmacy that compounds 15 customized (OMNI by OSRX) ophthalmic medications that are patient-specific and have been prescribed for surgical vision correction, myopia and glaucoma management. OSRX combines multiple medications into a single bottle to provide patients with improved convenience, simplicity and affordability by reducing dosing complications and high costs associated with traditional multi-drop regimens.