Oculis appoints David Jacobs, M.D. as Chief Development Officer

Oculis appoints David Jacobs, M.D. as Chief Development Officer adding complementary drug development and regulatory expertise

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, October 22, 2020 – Oculis S.A., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing transformative topical ophthalmic treatments to improve the sight and lives of patients, announces the appointment of David Jacobs, M.D., as Chief Development Officer. Dr. Jacobs will be  based in Oculis’ newly established U.S. office. In this new role, he will be responsible for leading all development plans and achieving market authorizations by coordinating all regulatory activities required for future New Drug Application (NDA) submissions to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the equivalent for regulators in other territories.

Dr. Jacobs brings more than 20 years of leadership experience covering all aspects of drug development. He joins Oculis from Osmotica Pharmaceuticals, at which he was Vice President Clinical Development and Medical Affairs since 2017. During his tenure, in addition to successfully leading clinical programs from Phase 1 to Phase 4 in several therapeutic areas including ophthalmology, he was a key contributor to multiple successful regulatory submissions in the U.S. and Europe. Prior to his role at Osmotica, Dr. Jacobs held drug development leadership positions at Daiichi-Sankyo, Johnson & Johnson, Aptalis Pharmaceuticals and King Pharmaceuticals.

Riad Sherif, M.D., CEO of Oculis, said: “We are very pleased to welcome David to our growing team. We are driving our business forward across all fronts following the recent positive Phase 2 clinical results with our lead candidate OCS-01 in diabetic macular edema and post-ocular surgery while accelerating OCS-02 developement in Dry Eye Disease with its personalized medicine approach. Building our presence in the U.S. and expanding our global development capabilities are crucial to our growth strategy and David certainly brings key skills and experience to support Oculis on this journey.”

David Jacobs, M.D. said: “I am very impressed with the great progress that Oculis has made in this very important segment of the pharma industry. I am also impressed with the quality and shared vision of its global team and delighted to be joining at this crucial point in its development. I am confident that my experience in progressing drug candidates successfully through development and enabling novel products to reach patients will prove valuable to Oculis as it advances OCS-01 and OCS-02 in the coming years.”

About Oculis

Oculis S.A. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing transformative topical ophthalmic treatments using its innovative formulation technologies to improve the sight and lives of patients.

Oculis’ novel topical (eye drop) treatments are non-invasive and represent an unprecedented technical advance for patients with retinal and front-of-the-eye diseases.

The Company’s leading clinical candidates include OCS-01 and OCS-02:

• OCS-01 is a novel, high concentration, preservative free, topical formulation of dexamethasone based on Oculis’ proprietary Solubilizing Nanoparticle (SNP) technology. OCS-01 is moving to Phase 3 in two indications – Diabetic Macular Edema (DME) and post-ocular surgery – following a positive End-of-Phase 2 meeting with FDA. OCS-01 has the potential to provide the first non-invasive topical treatment option for DME patients and the first once a day, preservative free steroid for inflammation and pain following ocular surgery.
• OCS-02 is a novel topical anti-TNF alpha antibody. It has successfully completed two proof-of-concept clinical trials in Acute Anterior Uveitis and in Dry Eye Disease and is progressing into Phase 2b. In Uveitis, the goal is to evaluate OCS-02 as a steroid-sparing maintenance treatment for Chronic Anterior Uveitis. In Dry Eye Disease, Oculis will be investigating the potential of the biomarker method identified and response in the PoC study. This novel predictive method would allow OCS-02 to drive, for the first time, personalized medicine in Dry Eye Disease.

In addition, Oculis’ formulation discovery focus and capabilities are enabling the development of a pipeline of topical drugs targeting sight-threatening eye diseases that affect both the anterior and posterior segments of the eye.

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