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Re-Vana Therapeutics Names Renowned International Experts to Inaugural Scientific Advisory Board

June 4, 2019 Off By BusinessWire

New International Team Brings Extensive Ocular Drug Delivery and
Scientific Expertise to Advance the Sustained Release of Biologics and
Small Molecules into the Eye to Treat Sight-Threatening Eye Diseases

BELFAST, Northern Ireland–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#SAB–Re-Vana Therapeutics, a specialty ocular pharmaceutical and drug
delivery company that specializes in the development of
photo-crosslinked drug delivery technologies for both large and small
molecules, today announced the formation of its new Scientific Advisory
Board (SAB). The newly appointed SAB will strategically advise and
support Re-Vana as it develops innovative therapies for a broad range of
ophthalmic indications, including neovascular age-related macular
degeneration (wet AMD), diabetic retinopathy (DR) and glaucoma.

Re-Vana’s newly-created SAB consists of the following internationally
renowned experts:

Clive Wilson, Ph.D. – Prof. Wilson is Re-Vana’s Chief Scientific
Officer (CSO) and Research Professor at Strathclyde University Glasgow
Scotland, and will serve as Head of the Re-Vana SAB. Prof. Wilson is a
member of Senate of the European Union Federation of Pharmaceutical
Sciences and is a member of the core team for the European COST action
on gastrointestinal drug absorption. He has pioneered applications of
scintigraphy in the study of physiological and patho-physiological
effects on drug absorption following oral, nasal, pulmonary and
ophthalmic delivery. Prof. Wilson specializes in both large and small
molecule ophthalmic drug delivery and has contributed significantly to
ocular drug delivery and gastrointestinal science over the past 30 years.

David Guyer, M.D. – Co-Founder, ex-CEO and Executive Chairman of
the Board of Ophthotech Corporation, Dr. Guyer has significant medical,
drug development and commercial experience in ophthalmology. Dr. Guyer
co-founded and served as CEO and Director at Eyetech Pharmaceuticals,
Inc., where he led the company through private, public and corporate
financings over $400 million, including a $157 million IPO offering. He
also oversaw the rapid development and successful commercialization of
Macugen^® (pegaptanib sodium), the first FDA-approved
anti-VEGF pharmacological treatment for wet AMD. Dr. Guyer previously
worked as a venture capitalist and Partner at SV Life Sciences and has
served on multiple Boards of both public and private companies.

David Jones, PhD,, DSc., FREng – Re-Vana co-founder, Prof.
Jones is professor of Biomaterial Science at Queen’s University Belfast
and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education and Students. His research
concerns the characterization, formulation and engineering of
pharmaceutical materials/dosage forms and biomedical devices. He is the
author of two textbooks, six patents and over 400 research
papers/communications, and his awards include the Lilly prize for
pharmaceutical research. Prof. Jones is a chartered engineer, a
chartered statistician and a chartered chemist, and is an elected Fellow
of the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland. Most recently, he was
elected as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. He is the
founder and director of two university-based companies, Xiomateria and
Carapacics, both of which design and develop novel medical devices.

Baruch Kuppermann, M.D., Ph.D. – Dr. Kuppermann is the Roger F.
Steinert Professor, Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology, and
Director of the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute at The University of
California, Irvine (UCI). He also holds a joint appointment with the
Department of Biomedical Engineering at UCI where he works
collaboratively to develop drug delivery systems for the posterior
segment. Dr. Kuppermann has published extensively in the peer-reviewed
literature and has been a visiting professor at a number of universities
in the United States and Europe. He is also extensively involved in
clinical research, having served as principal investigator in many
trials evaluating new drugs and technologies for the treatment of AMD,
DR, and retinal vein occlusion.

Brian Levy, O.D., MSc. – Dr. Levy is CEO of OcuNexus
Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company developing novel and
differentiated products in ophthalmology. Prior to OcuNexus he was Chief
Medical Officer (CMO) at Aerie Pharmaceuticals where he developed Rho
kinase inhibitors for the lowering of intraocular pressure (IOP) in
patients with glaucoma. Previously, he served as corporate vice
president of R&D and CMO at Bausch + Lomb where he was responsible for
three new drug applications (NDAs) for pharmaceuticals Retisert^®,
Zylet^®, and Besivance^®, all of which are now FDA
approved. Dr. Levy also was Associate Professor, Department of
Ophthalmology at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, in
private practice in Toronto and served as clinical investigator and
consultant to the ophthalmic industry.

“We are delighted to have five distinguished experts in the areas of
drug delivery, retina disease, glaucoma and biomaterials join our
scientific advisory board,” said Michael O’Rourke, CEO of Re-Vana. “I am
confident their experience and background will prove to be invaluable as
we develop our innovative photo-crosslinked technologies EyeLief and
OcuLief.”

“I’m pleased to welcome such distinguished names to the Re-Vana SAB. We
have an exceptional team and an exciting preclinical development program
in progress. It is our goal to deliver four-to-six-month sustained
release of biologics and advance small molecule sustained delivery. Our
hope is that these programs will develop promising new treatments for
common sight-threatening ocular diseases,” said Prof. Wilson.

About Re-Vana Therapeutics

Re-Vana Therapeutics Ltd, founded in 2016 as a spin out from Queens
University Belfast, Northern Ireland, is a specialty ocular therapeutic
and drug delivery company with its head office located in Belfast and a
U.S.-based office, Re-Vana Therapeutics, Inc., in Tampa, Florida.
Re-Vana’s strategy includes both internal therapeutic development and
external strategic collaborations with industry for both novel and
approved therapeutics. Re-Vana raised $1.6m seed capital in November
2017 and is currently raising pre Series A capital. Visit Re-Vana at https://www.revanatx.com/home/

EyeLief™ and OcuLief™ are trademarks of Re-Vana Therapeutics Ltd.

All other product/brand names are trademarks of the respective owners.