(PRESS RELEASE) SEATTLE, WA and IRVINE, CA — Visus Therapeutics Inc., a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing innovative ophthalmic therapies to improve vision for people around the world, announced the appointment of eye care industry veteran Julia Williams as vice president of clinical and medical affairs. The company also announced the expansion of its Irvine co-headquarters in the University of California-Irvine Research Park, including the establishment of a research and development facility with a state-of-the-art laboratory. The Irvine expansion increases the corporate office footprint by 33%, serving as the hub of R&D, clinical, and commercial activities in support of the company’s growth strategy as it embarks on the Phase 3 clinical trial of its lead investigational candidate for the treatment of presbyopia, BRIMOCHOL.
“As we continue to make further investments in our research, development and commercial capabilities, expanding our Irvine co-headquarters was a natural evolution to fuel our growth strategy for 2022 and beyond,” said Ben Bergo, co-founder and chief executive officer at Visus Therapeutics. “This expansion provides the critical infrastructure needed to attract renowned talent and advance our diverse pipeline of ophthalmic therapies that could potentially change the standard of care for sight-threatening conditions.”
The addition of Ms. Williams to the Visus leadership team strengthens Visus’ capabilities in the design and execution of clinical studies and medical affairs strategy. Bringing more than 25 years of ophthalmic experience in retina, glaucoma, dry eye, and cornea/external disease, she has previously served in senior leadership roles at Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Allergan, Bausch & Lomb and Heidelberg Engineering. In these roles, Ms. Williams built and effectively led multidisciplinary teams across marketing, clinical and medical affairs functions in support of more than 15 successful product launches, including Lumigan (bimatoprost), Combigan (brimonidine tartrate/timolol) , Ozurdex (dexamethasone intravitreal implant), Xen Gel Stent, Rhopressa (netarsudil) and Rocklatan (netarsudil/latanoprost). She has designed and executed over 25 clinical trials resulting in more than 40 authored or co-authored articles, book chapters and presentations in peer-reviewed ophthalmic literature.
“I am excited to welcome Julia to the Visus leadership team. Her extensive experience across such a vast array of ophthalmic indications and strong leadership track record in medical and clinical affairs bolsters our clinical and scientific expertise at a pivotal moment for our company,” said Rhett Schiffman, M.D., M.S., M.H.S.A., co-founder, chief medical officer and head of research and development at Visus Therapeutics. “As we prepare to initiate the Phase 3 clinical trials for BRIMOCHOL, I am confident Julia will be an extremely valuable contributor to this program and the entire portfolio of ophthalmic candidates.”
