Ciliatech appoints world-class panel of eye care specialists to newly created KOL advisory board

Ciliatech appoints world-class panel of eye care specialists to newly created KOL advisory board

Ciliatech will leverage ophthalmic expertise of seven-member advisory board to bring to market Intercil^® Uveal Spacer, a novel glaucoma implant offering unique benefits to eye surgeons and patients across the globe

Chavanod (near Annecy), France, November 12, 2024 – Ciliatech, an innovative medtech company focusing on the treatment of glaucoma, today announces the appointment of a world-leading panel of glaucoma surgeons to its newly created Key Opinion Leader (KOL) advisory board. The seven members, each of them internationally recognized, practicing surgeons, will guide Ciliatech on the latest thinking within the field of ophthalmic and glaucoma surgery. Ciliatech will leverage their expertise in ophthalmic medicine and surgery to further develop the clinical and commercial strategy of the Intercil^® Uveal Spacer, its flagship product for treating glaucoma – the leading cause of irreversible blindness.

Joining Ciliatech’s KOL advisory board are: Professor Verena Prokosch, Drs. Karl Mercieca and Karsten Klabe from Germany; Dr. Ziad Khoueir from Lebanon; and  Professor Gus Gazzard and Drs. Leon Au and Andrew Tatham from the UK. Each is a pioneer in the field of glaucoma surgery with outstanding track records in ophthalmic surgery and academia. They are all extremely well published, attaining impressive achievements in both academic book chapters and key scientific publications.

The ultimate aim of the advisory board is to guide Ciliatech’s efforts in bringing the Intercil Uveal Spacer, a device that works in an underused and underexplored treatment pathway – the supraciliary space – to the market in a way that will benefit the maximum number of ophthalmic surgeons and patients across the globe. Worldwide, the numbers affected by glaucoma will increase to 111.8 million by 2040.

“As an anatomical target in glaucoma surgery, the supraciliary space has been garnering interest due to its distinct advantages in aqueous outflow. The Intercil Uveal Spacer’s ab externo surgical approach offers the potential to overcome the shortcomings of previous supraciliary products by seeking to provide the sustainable efficacy and safety which have to date, eluded our industry peers,” said Olivier Benoit, co-founder and CEO of Ciliatech. “Ciliatech is therefore excited and honored to welcome this board of highly esteemed global opinion leaders within the field of glaucoma surgery.”

“It’s always exciting working on new things coming through in glaucoma. But Intercil seems particularly interesting as it really is taking a genuinely different approach compared to anything else that we have in our armamentarium. The KOL advisory board is looking forward to working with the whole team at Ciliatech on this,” said Dr. Andrew Tatham, member of KOL advisory board at Ciliatech and president-elect of the UK and Eire Glaucoma Society.

“As Ciliatech advances its CE mark application with a focus on its first commercial launches, we feel it is important to introduce our surgical glaucoma device, the Intercil Uveal Spacer, in an optimal way that will resonate with surgeons and bring benefits to the highest number of patients. At Ciliatech, we believe the best commercialization strategies are those that are ‘grounded in reality’ by the validation of accomplished opinion leaders within the field of expertise in which the product is being introduced. With these insights, we look forward to taking our product development to the next level, for the collective benefit of surgeons and patients who continue to endure the impacts of glaucoma,” added Sahil Syed, Ciliatech’s global VP glaucoma, sales and marketing.

Need to reduce confusion among multiple surgical treatment options for patients

There are several potential approaches to improving the drainage of fluid from the eye, thereby lowering pressure. According to Ciilatech, while having a large range of options is positive for surgeons and patients, it does increase the potential for confusion in how best to optimize treatment algorithms. Therefore, the company sees as important, the need to work alongside expert opinion leaders in the field in order to better help the ophthalmic community understand where its offering will add the most benefit.

To discover more about the treating glaucoma in the supraciliary space, visit Ciliatech’s new website.

About Ciliatech

Ciliatech is an innovative medtech company focusing on the treatment of glaucoma – a disease that affects 80 million people worldwide. Its Intercil^® Uveal Spacer, a groundbreaking implant in the new ‘Cilioscleral interpositioning Device’ (CID) category, will be the first proprietary glaucoma device that treats both the open and narrow angle forms of the disease. Clinical trial follow-up of patients implanted with the device has now reached the three-year mark; demonstrating highly positive results in robust IOP-lowering coupled with a very high safety profile. Multiple clinical trials of the second-generation CID are in progress, whilst the company is actively pursuing regulatory approvals. CID’s bespoke surgical implantation technique – facilitating external placement into the supraciliary space of the eye without ever entering the eye’s anterior chamber – sets it apart from other glaucoma procedures.

Co-founded in 2017 by ophthalmic surgeon and inventor Dr. Philippe Sourdille, and Olivier Benoit, a veteran engineer and biotech entrepreneur, Ciliatech has to date raised €6m ($6.5m) and is expanding its scientific, medical and commercial team. The company is located near Annecy, France.

www.cilia.tech

Legal disclaimer: Ciliatech products are currently not available for sale pending regulatory approvals.