Clinical Advisors – iCo-007
Alan C. Bird, M.D.
David S. Boyer, M.D.
Philip Rosenfeld, M.D., PhD.
Jason Slakter, M.D.
Clinical Advisors – iCo-008
Clinical Advisors – iCo-009
Donald N. Buell, M.D.
Thomas J. Walsh, M.D.
Dr. Jack Sobel
Dr. Coleman Rotstein
Corporate Advisors
George Lasezkay, Pharma.D., J.D.
Clinical Advisors – iCo-007
Alan C. Bird, M.D.
Dr. Bird’s esteemed career began at Moorfield’s Eye Hospital in London, England where his contributions to the treatment of retinal vascular disease and genetic & degenerative retinal disorders were at the forefront of the field. He spent the majority of his career at the Institute of Ophthalmology at University College London and Moorfield’s Eye Hospital. Dr. Bird’s expertise has been widely sought after and he has made strategic contributions to the US National Eye Institute, the UK Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust, INSERM and Deutsche Forchungsgemeinschaft. He has also played a key role in the design and evaluation of numerous clinical trials involving ground-breaking treatments in retinal disease today. Dr. Bird was the Chairman of the Drug Safety Monitoring Committee for the development of Macugen by Pfizer / Eyetech. Dr. Bird is a Fellow of the UK National Academy of Medical Science and has received a number of prestigious awards in vision science and ophthalmology, including the Alcon Research Award, The Helen Keller Prize, the Kayser Award and the Jules Francois Medal. In 2006, he was honored with the lifetime achievement award by the Macula Society.
David S. Boyer, M.D.
David S. Boyer, MD is a practising ophthalmologist who specializes in the treatment of diseases of the retina and vitreous. Dr. Boyer is a Senior Partner at the Retina-Vitreous Associates Medical Group and a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Southern California. He also has an extensive research background involving trials for age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and cytomegalovirus retinitis. Dr. Boyer has been on the advisory boards for Alcon, Novartis, Eyetech/Pfizer, Genentech, Neurotech and the Macular Degeneration Partnership and is a reviewer for several ophthalmology and diabetes medical publications including Archives of Ophthalmology, American Journal of Ophthalmology, Diabetes Care, and Ophthalmology. Throughout his career, Dr. Boyer has been honoured by prestigious organizations including the American Academy of Ophthalmology (Board of Trustees Honor Award Certificate) and Retinitis Pigmentosa International (1996 Jules Stein Living Tribute Award). Every year since 2000, he has been selected by his peers to be listed in Best Doctors in America. Dr. Boyer earned his medical degree at Chicago Medical School, completed his internship and residency at the USC/Los Angeles County Medical Center, and went on to do his fellowship in retinal surgery at the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia.
Philip Rosenfeld, M.D., PhD.
Dr. Rosenfeld is Professor of Ophthalmology at the world-renowned Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Rosenfeld’s chief research interests are in the diagnosis, treatment and genetics of macular diseases. He is at the forefront of medical testing having spent the past decade seeking effective therapies for AMD. He is currently Principal Investigator of nine clinical trials for AMD. In May 2005, Dr. Rosenfeld was the first to perform an intravitreal injection of Avastin?a drug approved to treat colon cancer?for the treatment of wet AMD and his findings have since been put into practice by physicians around the world. Dr. Rosenfeld received a Medical Degree and PhD from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. He completed a residency at Harvard’s Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and fellowships at both the Department of Ophthalmology at Harvard University and the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine.
Jason Slakter, M.D.
Dr. Slakter’s expertise in macular disease diagnostics is extensive. He has played a leading role and is widely published in the development of digital indocyanine green angiography (ICG) for the evaluation and management of macular degeneration and chorioretinal inflammatory disease. He created and is the director of the Digital Angiography Reading Center, which serves as a key resource for numerous industry-sponsored studies. He has served as a Principal Investigator in the clinical trials for photodynamic therapy for the treatment of wet AMD and is currently conducting clinical studies for the treatment of central serous chorioretinopathy. Dr. Slakter is a member of numerous medical organizations including the Macula and Retina Societies, and the American Society of Retinal Specialists. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Retinal Physician, is on the editorial board of Retina and serves as a scientific reviewer for major scientific ophthalmic journals. He is the recipient of a number of awards including the American Academy of Ophthalmology Honor Award, the Macula Society’s Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Award, and the Helen Keller Manhattan League Award.
Clinical Advisors – iCo-008
Andrea Leonardi, M.D.
Dr. Leonardi received his degree in medicine from the University of Padua in 1985, after which he completed a residency in ophthalmology in 1988, specializing in anterior segment, allergy and immunology of the eye. Dr. Leonardi completed a research fellowship at Harvard University, at the Eye Research Institute, under the direction of Prof. Mathea Allansmith. His research interests at that time included the development of animal models of allergic conjunctivitis. After returning to Italy in 1989, he immediately began a residency in Allergy and Clinical Immunology while continuing research efforts and working in various ophthalmic clinics and hospital outpatient services. In 1992, he completed his second residency with a concentrated research interest in vernal keratoconjunctivitis. In 2002, Dr. Leonardi became Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology in the Department of Neuroscience, University of Padua. He has over 80 publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals and is an internationally sought opinion leader in ocular allergy and immunology. He has been an invited speaker in many international Meetings and Courses.
He is an active member of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, the International Ocular Inflammation Society, and other national societies.
Clinical Advisors – iCo-009
Donald N. Buell, M.D.
Dr. Buell was most recently the Senior Medical Director at Astellas Pharma Inc, and has held positions in the Anti-infective Drugs Group at Pfizer, the Division of Oncology and Radiopharmaceutical Drug Products in the Center for Drugs and Biologics at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dr. Buell has been involved at the medical director level in the filing of 10 primary or supplemental New Drug Applications (NDA’s), 8 of which have been approved, with 2 approvable but not pursued. The most recent (January 2008) are the approvals of Mycamine® (micafungin) for treatment of candidemia, disseminated candidiasis, peritonitis and abcesses. Earlier approvals were for esophageal candidiasis and prophylaxis of Candida infections in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Other drugs approved after programs under his direction were fluconazole (Diflucan®), tacrolimus (Prograf®) and liposomal Amphotericin B (AmBisome®).
Thomas J. Walsh, MD
Dr. Walsh is Director of the Transplantation-Oncology Infectious Diseases Program of Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY. Dr. Walsh was previously a Senior Investigator and Chief of the Immunocompromised Host Section in the Pediatric Oncology Branch of National Cancer Institute. He serves in adjunct faculty positions at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the John Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Walsh directs a combined laboratory and clinical translational research program that is dedicated to the investigation of the antifungal pharmacology and chemotherapeutics, augmentation of host defenses, and molecular detection of invasive fungal infections in immunocompromised children and adults with cancer, stem cell transplantation, and other immunodeficiencies.
Dr. Jack Sobel
As the Associate Chairman for Research, Department of Internal Medicine, Dr. Sobel leads the Wayne State University vulvovaginitis clinic where he has been actively involved in studying all forms of infectious vaginitis and has developed a variety of new agents for diagnosis of vaginitis as well as strategies for managing refractory vaginitis due to both Candida as well bacterial etiologies. Dr. Sobel has served as a leader of the MSG Candida section for several years and is actively involved in the development of clinical trials for evaluating new drugs to prevent and treat invasive candidiasis. Dr. Sobelīs research laboratory currently is involved in studies related to pathogenesis of vulvovaginal candidiasis and more recently has focused on the use of PCR diagnosis and molecular methodologies to study the natural history of vulvovaginal candidiasis.
Dr. Coleman Rotstein
Dr. Rotstein is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the
Corporate Advisors
George Lasezkay, Pharma.D., J.D.
President, Turning Point Consultants, LLC
Dr. Lasezkay is the president of Turning Point Consultants, a consultancy practice that advises life sciences companies on strategy and business development. He is a former Corporate Vice President of Corporate Development at Allergan, a global pharmaceutical and medical aesthetics company. He also has extensive experience in hospital pharmacy practice, clinical pharmacokinetics consultation, clinical drug research and pharmacy education. Dr. Lasezkay earned B.S. Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a J.D. degree from the University of Southern California Law Center. He has served as a director of a number of emerging pharmaceutical companies and currently serves as a director of Urigen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Collagenex Pharmaceuticals, and Novagali Pharma, SA.