Oculis opens subsidiary in the U.S

Oculis’ eye drops address ophthalmic diseases for both back- and front-of-the-eye to improve the sight and lives of patients worldwide. The company’s leading clinical candidates are OCS-01 developed using Oculis’ proprietary Soluble NanoParticle technology (SNP), and OCS-02 which is based on a proprietary single-chain antibody fragment technology specifically designed for topical delivery. OCS-02 is potentially the first topical anti-TNF alpha therapy for ophthalmic indications. Both candidates have undergone clinical trials to evaluate their safety and efficacy.

With headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland and office in Iceland, Oculis has expanded into the U.S with the opening of a new subsidiary under the entity name “Oculis Inc.” In line with the expansion, the company has strengthened its senior management team by appointing Sylvia Cheung as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) who will be based in the newly established Oculis US entity. Cheung succeeds Páll Ragnar Jóhannesson who becomes Oculis Chief Strategy Officer.

A CFO with a broad knowledge of the U.S market
Cheung has 20 years of financial and general management experience at emerging growth life science companies. She joins Oculis from the NASDAQ-listed company Anika Therapeutics, Inc. where she was CFO since 2013. During her tenure, she played a vital role in redefining and executing the company’s mission, vision and long-range financial-operational targets; supported and enabled U.S. launches of key therapeutics products; and executed on three strategic acquisitions. Anika’s market capitalization increased significantly during this period from ~$300 million in 2013 to over $900 million in 2019.

Prior to her role as CFO, Cheung was Vice President of Strategic Processes at Anika and General Manager of Anika Therapeutics S.r.l. She joined Anika as Controller in 2005. Before Anika, Cheung held a series of financial management positions of increasing responsibility at Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc., which was acquired by Shire Pharmaceuticals in 2005. She began her career in the technology audit practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Riad Sherif, MD, CEO of Oculis, said: “We are very pleased to be proceeding with our U.S. expansion and I am thrilled to welcome Sylvia as our new CFO who will play a key role in the next phase of our corporate journey. She is an accomplished executive with a proven track record of financial and operational leadership in the life sciences industry. Her experience in building and financing biotechnology and medical device companies, together with her knowledge of U.S. financial and public capital markets made her a natural choice to fill this key role. Oculis is now preparing for its next important strategic steps, and we look forward to leveraging Sylvia’s significant experience and expertise as we continue to progress towards our corporate goals.”

Sherif continued: “I would also like to thank Páll for his key contribution as CFO. I am confident that we would not be where we are today without his expertise and drive, I feel privileged to have him on the team and to continue working with him on key strategic initiatives for Oculis.”

(Press release/RAN)