PARIS, March 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Eyevensys, a private biotechnology company developing its proprietary EyeCET platform, the first non-viral gene expression technology that enables the safe, local, sustained production of therapeutic proteins in the eye to address a wide range of ophthalmic diseases, announces that Dr. Garth Cumberlidge has been appointed as new Chairman of the Board of Directors, effective immediately. Garth replaces Dr. Francesco Sinigaglia who is stepping down from his role due to health reasons.

Garth is currently President and CEO of Mimetogen Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biotechnology company developing novel neuroprotective and neurostimulatory compounds for the treatment of ocular diseases. Prior to Mimetogen, Garth served as President & CEO of Qbiogene Inc., a company providing life sciences research products and custom cGMP manufacturing services to academic, biotechnology and pharmaceutical researchers worldwide. Previously he held senior positions at ICN Pharmaceuticals and Sigma Chemicals Company.

Dr. Cumberlidge holds degrees in Biochemistry and Genetics from the University of London (U.K.) and in Molecular Genetics from the Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin (Germany).

"On behalf of the board, I'm delighted to welcome Garth as Chairman" said Dr. Frank Kalkbrenner, Eyevensys' board member and Managing Partner of BIVF. "Garth brings more than 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry, including in ophthalmology drug development. He also brings experience and a clear understanding of private company fund raising. I am confident that he will provide the companywith the business insights and guidance to promote the unique EyeCET platform and pursue promising developments."

Raffy Kazandjian, CEO of Eyevensys, added: "I would like to thank Francesco Sinigaglia for his leadership and commitment to Eyevensys over the past two years. Francesco has offered extensive experience and insights into general management, corporate governance and financial matters that have proven to be of great value to the company".

Dr. Garth Cumberlidge, new Chairman of Eyevensys, commented: "I am very happy to be joining the board of Eyevensys. The company's novel gene delivery platform, coupled with a promising proprietary plasmid portfolio, offers a completely new, non-viral, simple and safe approach to treating a broad spectrum of ophthalmic indications with high unmet medical needs. The company's lead product is about to enter the clinic and I look forward to working with the Board and management team as they continue the development of the EyeCET platform."

About Eyevensys 

Eyevensys is a private biotechnology company developing its innovative EyeCET platform to enable the sustained intraocular production of therapeutic proteins to treat a broad range of ophthalmic diseases.

Eyevensys' EyeCET technology uses electroporation to deliver protein coding plasmids, which are safe and non-viral, into the ciliary muscle of the eye. This approach facilitates the sustained production of therapeutic proteins, localized within the ciliary muscle cells.

Eyevensys believes its EyeCET technology can improve both short and long-term therapeutic outcomes by greatly enhancing patient compliance and significantly improving the tolerability of treatment.

Eyevensys' lead product EYS606, a non-viral plasmid encoding anti-TNFα, is a potential new treatment for patients with non-infectious Uveitis (NIU). EYS606 consists of Eyevensys' proprietary electro-transfection injection system (ETIS) in combination with a plasmid encoding for the production of an anti-TNFα, a cytokine that has been shown to play a pivotal role in mediating intraocular inflammation in NIU. EYS606 has been granted an Orphan drug designation by the EMA for the treatment of NIU.

Eyevensys was founded in 2008. It is headquartered in Paris, France, and is funded by Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, BPIFrance, CapDecisif, Inserm Transfert and Pontifax.

For more information about Eyevensys, please visit www.eyevensys.com

For more information, please contact:
Eyevensys
Raffy Kazandjian, CEO
Raffy.Kazandjian@eyevensys.com
Tel: +33-(0)-1-84-79-10-60

Media Relations
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
David Dible, Sylvie Berrebi, Marine Perrier
eyevensys@citigatedr.co.uk
Tel: +44-(0)207-638-9571

SOURCE Eyevensys