OPT - Opthea Appoints U.S.-Based Leadership with Fred Guerard as CEO and Peter Lang as CFO | Benzinga
Dr. Megan Baldwin transitions to Founder, Chief Innovation Officer and remains on the Board of Directors
Experienced pharmaceutical executives Dr. Frederic Guerard appointed as CEO and Peter Lang appointed as CFO, bringing complementary expertise to lead Opthea's next phase of growth
MELBOURNE, Australia, Oct. 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Opthea Limited (NASDAQ:OPT, ASX:OPT)), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies to treat highly prevalent and progressive retinal diseases, announced today that the company's Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Megan Baldwin, will transition to Founder and Chief Innovation Officer, effective today, reflective of the company's strategy to advance its US and global presence and commercialization strategy for sozinibercept (OPT-302).
Concurrently, Opthea is pleased to announce the appointments of U.S.-based executives, Dr. Frederic Guerard as Chief Executive Officer and Peter Lang as Chief Financial Officer.
Dr. Frederic Guerard and Peter Lang are two well-respected healthcare executives with a record of building and growing organizations, guiding R&D pipelines, leading commercial operations, and managing finances while providing strategic direction and successfully steering companies through critical corporate, clinical and commercial growth inflection points.
"On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to welcome Fred Guerard and Peter Lang to Opthea's leadership team. Both come to Opthea with impressive credentials to position Opthea for future growth and success," commented Dr. Jeremy Levin, Chairman of Opthea's Board of Directors. "We are also excited to create a new and essential role for Megan to continue to enhance the opportunity for sozinibercept and Opthea's pipeline of next generation therapeutics for retinal diseases. Megan has dedicated much of her career to making Opthea what it is today and continues to be a critical member of the leadership team and Board of Directors."
Dr. Baldwin commented "Recognising that Opthea is entering a critical stage of its corporate growth trajectory, with an expanded team in the U.S. and increased focus on advancing the commercialization strategy for sozinibercept, I am pleased to welcome both Frederic and Peter to their new roles and working with them to lead Opthea's transition to its next phase of growth."
Fred Guerard, Chief Executive Officer of Opthea, continued "I'm excited to join Opthea at such an important time for the Company. I believe it's now well-positioned to disrupt the eye disease treatment landscape highlighted by sozinibercept's potential to become the first drug, when used in combination, to deliver superior visual gains compared to standard of care in wet AMD. I wish to extend my gratitude to the Board for this opportunity and look forward to working with Megan, Peter and the entire team as we work to advance Opthea to ultimately become a premier ophthalmology company."
Peter Lang added, "I am honored to have this opportunity to work with Fred, Megan, the management team, and Board to efficiently grow the business and bring significant value to patients, clinicians, and investors. The Opthea team continues to build a unique biotech and realize the full potential of its pipeline with a differentiated, first-in-class product candidate in the late stage of pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials addressing a real need for wet AMD patients."
Frederic ...