Oculis Strengthens its Global Clinical and Business Development Capabilities Through Strategic Appointments to Senior Management Team

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, November 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Oculis, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation topical ophthalmic treatments for acute and chronic back- and front-of-the-eye diseases, announces the appointments of Fabio Baschiera PharmD, MPh, Ph.D. as Vice President of Clinical Development, and Louie-Anne Gauthier M.Sc., as Vice President of Strategic Marketing, Business Development and Licensing.

Dr. Riad Sherif, CEO of Oculis said: "We are delighted to welcome Fabio and Louie-Anne to the Oculis management team, bringing significant experience and expertise in their respective areas. These appointments are crucial to drive the Company's global clinical and business development strategies, which are focused on advancing our pipeline of innovative topical (eye-drop) therapies for ophthalmic diseases. With these additions to our management team, our team is fortified with excellent and well-balanced leaders that are committed, focused and motivated to working together towards achieving our strategic goals."

Dr. Fabio Baschiera joins Oculis bringing more than 20 years of experience in clinical development, regulatory and medical affairs specializing in the ophthalmic disease area. He joins from Novartis, where he served in a number of leadership roles, most notably as Global Clinical Operations Lead for Novartis Ophthalmic Franchise, contributing to the clinical data packages supporting the regulatory filings of a number of products, including Lucentis™ and brolucizumab. Dr. Baschiera was also a core member in the Alcon-Novartis Integration Team. He is a licensed Pharmacologist and received his Ph.D. in Physiopathology and Pharmacology from the University of Pisa (Italy).

Louie-Anne Gauthier joins Oculis from Pharmascience, a Canadian pharmaceuticals company, where she served in different leadership positions including Commercial Group Head, Commercial Head for the gastroenterology portfolio for its innovative division (Pendopharm) and as Director of Product Marketing and Market Access for Pharmascience Canada. Previously, Ms. Gauthier spent more than ten years with Novartis Canada, in different therapeutic areas, advancing to senior commercial positions. She holds a M.Sc. in Business Administration specialized in Marketing Research from HEC Montreal, Canada.

About Oculis  

Oculis is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to develop novel topical treatments (eye drops) for ophthalmic diseases for both back- and front-of-the-eye in order to improve the lives of patients worldwide. These topical treatments represent an unprecedented technical advance for patients with back-of-the-eye diseases that are currently managed only by intra-ocular injections or implants; while topical treatments for front-of-the-eye disease are designed to improve patient outcomes by increasing drug bioavailability, reducing dosing frequency and improving patient compliance.

The company's most advanced product candidate, OC-118, is currently in clinical trials in patients with DME and in planning phase for potential front-of-the-eye indications. If approved in DME, it has the potential to provide a new non-invasive treatment option for patients.

OC-118 has been developed from Oculis' solubilizing nanoparticle (SNP) technology, a proprietary platform that enables the formulation of a wide range of drugs as non-invasive topical treatments and enhances their bioavailability in the relevant eye tissues. The Company is leveraging this proprietary technology to generate a pipeline of topical drugs targeting sight-threatening eye diseases.

Oculis has an experienced management team from leading global ophthalmic companies and is supported by leading international life science investors. Oculis is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, with research operations in Reykjavik, Iceland.

To learn more visit www.oculis.com