Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading developer of innovative products
that enhance penetration of therapeutic agents into ocular tissue based
on the Company’s proprietary Mucus Penetrating Particle (MPP)
technology, today announced the appointment of Howard B. Rosen as
Chairman of the company’s board of directors.
“Howard’s extensive track record of building and guiding successful
companies will be extremely helpful to Kala at this critical juncture as
we advance a rich pipeline of ophthalmology product candidates into
clinical development,” said Guillaume Pfefer, Ph.D., Kala’s President
and Chief Executive Officer. “Howard is an experienced visionary and is
ideally suited to provide leadership guidance for Kala to evolve to the
next level with broad applications for our MPP technology, not only in
ocular diseases but also other potential indications involving mucus
tissues including respiratory and gastrointestinal disease.”
Commenting on his appointment to the Kala board, Mr. Rosen said, “Upon
first introduction to Kala, I was immediately impressed by the many
attributes of Kala’s MPP technology which open up a breadth of
opportunities across a wide range of diseases. I look forward to
leveraging my experience to guide Kala as it continues to grow and
evolve.”
Mr. Rosen brings more than twenty-five years of experience serving in
management and board positions in the biotechnology industry. He
currently serves on the board of directors of AcelRx Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. (NASDAQ: ACRX), ALCOBRA, LTD (NASDAQ: ADHD), ALDEA Pharmaceuticals,
Inc., Entrega, Inc., and PaxVax, Inc, where he has served as Chairman
since 2011. From 2010 to 2011, he served as interim President and Chief
Executive Officer of Pearl Therapeutics, which was acquired by
AstraZeneca in June 2013. From 2004 to 2008, he was Vice President,
Commercial Strategy at Gilead Sciences, Inc. Prior to joining Gilead,
Mr. Rosen was President of ALZA Corporation where he was responsible for
all aspects of managing ALZA as an independent 1000-person operating
company within the Johnson & Johnson family of companies. Over his ten
years at ALZA, Mr. Rosen had responsibilities for product development,
portfolio management, corporate and new product planning, mergers and
acquisitions, R&D planning, and technology ventures. Prior to joining
ALZA, Mr. Rosen managed the west coast practice of Integral, Inc., was
Director of Corporate Development at GenPharm International, Inc. and
was a consultant in the San Francisco office of McKinsey & Co. Mr. Rosen
is a member of the Biomedical Engineering Advisory Board at City College
of New York and the board of directors of the MIT Club of Northern
California. Mr. Rosen is a Lecturer in the Department of Chemical
Engineering at Stanford University and a Lecturer in Management at the
Stanford Graduate School of Business. He is also a member of the
National Academy of Engineering, where he is Chair of the Bioengineering
Section. Mr. Rosen holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Stanford
University, an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School
of Business.
About Kala Pharmaceuticals
Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is advancing innovative treatments for ocular
diseases addressing significant unmet needs in both front and back of
the eye based on the Company’s proprietary Mucus Penetrating Particle
(MPP) technology. Kala’s topical ocular MPP formulations enhance
penetration of diverse therapeutic agents into ocular tissue, including
those in the back of the eye, by facilitating penetration through the
mucus layer of tear film. Kala’s product development pipeline includes:
a 1% formulation of loteprednol etabonate (1% LE-MPP) to treat
post-surgical ocular inflammation and pain, expected to enter a pivotal
clinical study in 2014; a 0.25% LE-MPP formulation for dry eye,
blepharitis, and retinal disease, expected to enter clinical trials in
2014, and a topically applied receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor
(RTKi-MPP) for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration
(AMD), which is advancing toward selection of a clinical candidate in
2014.
Kala’s approach to penetrating mucus layers also has potential
application in other disease areas, such as respiratory, female
reproductive tract, and gastrointestinal diseases, and in these areas
the Company will seek partners to out-license its breakthrough
technology. Kala was founded by leaders in the fields of nanomedicine
and biopharmaceutical engineering, maintains an esteemed group of
advisors including co-founder and MIT professor Dr. Robert Langer, and
is backed by leading investors including Lux Capital, Polaris Venture
Partners, Third Rock Ventures, and Crown Venture Fund, LLC. For more
information, please visit www.kalarx.com.
Copyright Business Wire 2014