Kala Pharmaceuticals Announces Appointment of Marjan Farid, M.D., to its Board of Directors
November 01 2022 - 7:30AM
Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: KALA) (“Kala” or the
“Company”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to
the research, development and commercialization of innovative
therapies for rare diseases of the eye, today announced the
appointment of Marjan Farid, M.D., to its Board of Directors. Dr.
Farid, who is currently Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology,
Director of Cornea, Refractive & Cataract Surgery, and Vice
Chair of Ophthalmic Faculty at the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute,
University of California Irvine (UCI), founded the Severe Ocular
Surface Disease Center at UCI and is an industry leader in the care
and treatment of corneal diseases.
“Marjan is an outstanding addition to our Board of Directors. As
a treating physician, lead investigator in multiple clinical trials
and subject expert in severe ocular surface diseases, she brings a
unique understanding of the unmet needs we hope to address with
KPI-012, as well as the critical importance of designing and
executing a scientifically rigorous development program,” said Mark
Iwicki, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Kala
Pharmaceuticals. “We look forward to her many contributions as we
advance KPI-012 into Phase 2/3 studies for the treatment of
persistent corneal epithelial defect (PCED) later this year, while
continuing to explore its potential for the treatment of other rare
and severe ocular diseases that are driven by impaired corneal
healing.”
At UCI, Dr. Farid’s clinical practice is divided between patient
care, teaching and research. Her research interests focus on
corneal surgery, specifically the use of the femtosecond laser for
corneal transplantation. She performs limbal stem cell transplants
as well as artificial corneal transplantation for the treatment of
patients with severe ocular surface disease. Dr. Farid serves as
the Chair of the Corneal Clinic Committee of ASCRS (American
Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery). Her work is published
in numerous peer-reviewed journals and she has authored multiple
textbook chapters. Dr. Farid graduated with a B.A. in Biology from
the University of California, Los Angeles and earned her M.D. from
the University of California, San Diego.
“I have devoted my career to treating people living with severe
ocular surface diseases, which, left untreated, can lead to
significant vision loss or blindness,” commented Dr. Farid. “I am
deeply familiar with the challenges associated with these
conditions and the limited options available to patients and their
physicians, and am committed to helping advance a new generation of
medicines that can address the underlying pathology and deliver
significant clinical benefit. Based on its multifactorial mechanism
of action and data to-date, I believe KPI-012 has the potential to
alter the treatment paradigm in PCED and other diseases of impaired
corneal healing, and I look forward to collaborating with the Kala
management team and Board of Directors to advance this program
through late-stage development.”
About Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Kala is a
clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the research,
development and commercialization of innovative therapies for rare
diseases of the eye. Kala’s biologics-based investigational
therapies utilize Kala’s proprietary Mesenchymal Stem Cell
Secretome (MSC-S) platform. Kala’s lead product candidate, KPI-012,
is in clinical development for the treatment of persistent corneal
epithelial defect (PCED), a rare disease of impaired corneal
healing, which has received orphan drug designation from the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration. Kala is also targeting the potential
development of KPI-012 for the treatment of Partial Limbal Stem
Cell Deficiency and ocular manifestations of moderate-to-severe
Sjögren's and plans to initiate preclinical studies to evaluate the
utility of its MSC-S platform for retinal degenerative diseases,
such as Retinitis Pigmentosa and Stargardt Disease. For more
information on Kala, please visit www.kalarx.com.
Forward Looking Statements:This press release
contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve
substantial risks and uncertainties. Any statements in this press
release about Kala’s future expectations, plans and prospects,
including but not limited to statements about Kala’s development of
its lead product candidate, KPI-012, Kala continuing to explore
KPI-012 for the potential treatment of other rare and severe ocular
diseases that are driven by impaired corneal healing, and other
statements containing the words “anticipate,” “believe,”
“estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “predict,”
“project,” “target,” “potential,” “likely,” “will,” “would,”
“could,” “should,” “continue,” and similar expressions constitute
forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially
from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result
of various important factors, including: the effect that the
reverse stock split may have on the price of Kala’s common stock;
Kala’s ability to realize the anticipated benefits of planned or
completed transactions, including the uncertainty regarding the
receipt of any milestone payments from Alcon Inc.; the impact of
extraordinary external events, such as the current pandemic health
event resulting from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), and their
collateral consequences; Kala’s ability to maintain its listing on
the Nasdaq Global Select Market; the uncertainties inherent in the
initiation and conduct of preclinical studies and clinical trials;
uncertainties regarding availability and timing of data from
clinical trials; whether results of early clinical trials or trials
in different disease indications will be indicative of the results
of ongoing or future trials; whether results of the Phase 1b
clinical trial of KPI-012 will be indicative of results for any
future clinical trials and studies of KPI-012; uncertainties
associated with regulatory review of clinical trials and
applications for marketing approvals; Kala’s ability to retain and
hire key personnel; the sufficiency of cash resources and need for
additional financing and other important factors, any of which
could cause the Kala’s actual results to differ from those
contained in the forward-looking statements, discussed in the “Risk
Factors” section of Kala’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, most
recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and other filings Kala
makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These
forward-looking statements represent Kala’s views as of the date of
this press release and should not be relied upon as representing
Kala’s views as of any date subsequent to the date hereof. Kala
does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise, except as required by law.
Investor Contact:Hannah
Deresiewiczhannah.deresiewicz@sternir.com212-362-1200
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