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Meeting Chair

Emmett T. Cunningham, Jr., MD, PhD, MPH

Partner
Clarus Ventures, LLC

Dr. Cunningham joined Clarus Ventures with more than 20 years experience in the biomedical and biopharmaceutical sectors.  Prior to Clarus, Dr. Cunningham was the Senior Vice President, Medical Strategy at Eyetech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYET), where he helped build and lead the team that developed and commercialized Macugen, a first-in-class product for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration.  Prior to Eyetech, Dr. Cunningham was at Pfizer, Inc, where he was responsible for the clinical development of early phase central nervous system compounds and the in-licensing of early and late-stage therapeutic candidates in ophthalmology.

Dr. Cunningham is an internationally recognized specialist in infectious and inflammatory eye disease with over 200 publications.  He is an Adjunct Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at Stanford University, was Clinical Professor and Director of the Uveitis service at NYU from 2002 to 2005, and was Director of both the Uveitis Service and the Kimura Ocular Immunology Laboratory at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) from 1995 to 2001.  Dr. Cunningham received an MD and MPH in epidemiology and statistics from Johns Hopkins University, a PhD in neuroscience from the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) for work done at The Salk Institute, and completed both a residency in ophthalmology and fellowship training in Corneal Disease and Uveitis at UCSF.

Dr. Cunningham is a member of the Board of Directors for SARcode Inc., a member of the Scientific Advisory Boards of ESBAtech AG and Comentis Inc., and a Board observer for Ferrokin Biosciences, Pearl Therapeutics Inc., Taligen Therapeutics Inc., and Zogenix, Inc.

Meeting Co-Chairs

William Link, PhD

Managing Director
Versant Ventures

Bill Link specializes in early-stage investing in medical devices at Versant.  Prior to co-founding Versant Ventures, Bill was a general partner at Brentwood Venture Capital.  He has a proven record of building and operating large, successful medical product companies.  With extensive knowledge of medical devices, particularly in ophthalmology, his operating experience spans more than 23 years in general management in the healthcare industry.

Perhaps Bill’s greatest operational success was as founder, chairman and CEO of Chiron Vision, a subsidiary of Chiron Corporation specializing in ophthalmic surgical products, which was sold to Bausch and Lomb in 1997.  Prior to Chiron Vision, Bill founded and served as President of American Medical Optics (AMO), a division of American Hospital Supply Corporation, which was sold to Allergan in 1986.  Later Bill served on the Board of AMO’s successor company, Advanced Medical Optics.  AMO was acquired by Abbott in 2009.

While at Brentwood, Bill invested in a number of early-stage companies, including eyeonics (sold), Genyx (sold), IntraLase (sold), Intra Therapeutics (sold), and OraMetrix (private).  His Versant investments include the following private companies: AcuFocus, Cameron Health, ForSight, Glaukos, Inogen, LenSx, NeoVista, Neurotech Pharmaceuticals, Rox Medical, Second Sight and Wavetec.  Bill also serves as a Director of Edwards Lifesciences.

Before entering the healthcare industry, Bill was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the Indiana University School of Medicine.  Bill earned his Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University.

Gilbert Kliman, MD

Managing Director
InterWest Partners

Dr. Gil Kliman joined InterWest's life sciences team in 1996.  He invests in a broad array of life sciences opportunities with a special interest in ophthalmology and medical devices.  He is a board member of Epocrates, Glaukos, LenSx Lasers, Neuronetics, Restoration Robotics, and ReVision Optics.  Prior to InterWest, Dr. Kliman was a healthcare investor at TA Associates and at Norwest Venture Capital.  As a practicing ophthalmologist he was the former west coast director of LCA Vision, and served as an assistant professor at Tufts New England Eye Center.

Dr. Kliman has a B.A. from Harvard University.  He received an M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from Stanford University.

Previous Representative Investments
IntraLase (ILSE) – acquired by Advanced Medical Optics (EYE)
Spinal Dynamics – acquired by Medtronic (MDT)

Advisory Board Members

Anthony P. Adamis, MD

Vice President, Global Head of Ophthalmology – Genentech
Adjunct Professor of Ophthalmology & Visual Science - University of Illinois
Lecturer, Department of Ophthalmology – Harvard Medical School

Anthony P. Adamis, M.D. was co-founder and CEO of Jerini Ophthalmic until the company was acquired by Shire in 2009.  Prior to that, Dr. Adamis was a co-founder of Eyetech Pharmaceuticals and served as its Chief Scientific Officer until its acquisition by OSI Pharmaceuticals.  Eyetech developed and obtained FDA and EMEA approval for the first anti-VEGF drug in ophthalmology.  From 1992 to 2002, Dr. Adamis served on the full-time faculty of the Harvard Medical School.  He was an NIH-supported principal investigator and co-director of the Retina Research Institute for Diabetic Retinopathy and Macular Degeneration at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.  Dr. Adamis co-discovered the role that VEGF plays in new blood vessel growth and blood vessel leakage related to various diseases of the eye.  He also co-discovered the role that PDGF-B plays in the regression of ophthalmic vessels, and the causal role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy.  Dr. Adamis received his M.D. with Honors from the University of Chicago and completed his ophthalmology residency at the University of Michigan.  His research training in vascular biology was with Dr. Judah Folkman at the Children’s Hospital of Boston.

Mark S. Blumenkranz, MD

Professor & Chairman, Department of Ophthalmology
Stanford University

Mark S. Blumenkranz is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at Stanford University.  He received his Baccalaureate, Master of Medical Science, and M.D. degrees at Brown University, followed by a Residency in Ophthalmology at Stanford.  Dr. Blumenkranz is a noted vitreoretinal surgeon who served as Co-Director of the Retinal Service at Stanford for five years prior to assuming the Chairmanship in November of 1997.

Dr. Blumenkranz’s primary clinical interests center on medical and surgical treatment of vitreoretinal diseases, including diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, retinal detachment; macular diseases, including macular hole and epiretinal membranes; retinal infectious and inflammatory syndromes; and complications of cataract surgery, including intraocular lens problems.  Dr. Blumenkranz is the author of more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters in the area of vitreoretinal surgery, with special interests in surgical adjuvant pharmacology and new microsurgical and laser techniques.  He was instrumental in developing the successful laser vision correction program at Stanford and serves as a principal investigator on a number of clinical research trials at Stanford evaluating the effects of laser and pharmacologic agents on eye disease.

Dr. Blumenkranz is an associate examiner for the American Board of Ophthalmology and a member of the Retina, Vitreous, Macula, and Gonin Societies.  He has served on the Editorial Board of the journals Retina, Graefe’s Archives for Ophthalmology, and Ophthalmology.  He is a past recipient of the Research to prevent Blindness Special Manpower Award, the Heed Award, the Rosenthal Award in Visual Sciences, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology Senior Honor Award.  Dr. Blumenkranz is active in various philanthropic activities related to his profession and serves on the Board of Northern California Prevent Blindness, the Bay Area Chapter of the Foundation Fighting Blindness, and is Vice-President of the Board of Overseers for the Brown University School of Medicine.

Brook Byers

Partner
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers

Brook Byers has been a venture capital investor since 1972.  He has been closely involved with more than fifty new technology based ventures, over half of which have already become public companies.  He formed the first Life Sciences practice group in the venture capital profession in 1984 and led KPCB to become a premier venture capital firm in the medical, healthcare, and biotechnology sectors.  KPCB has invested in and helped build over 110 Life Sciences companies which have already developed hundreds of products to treat major underserved medical needs for millions of patients.

Brook was the founding President and then Chairman, of four biotechnology companies which were incubated in KPCB’s offices and went on to become public companies with an aggregate market value over $8 Billion.  He is currently on the Board of Directors of ten companies, most recently joining CardioDX, Genomic Health Incorporated, Five Prime Therapeutics, OptiMedica, Pacific Biosciences, Inc., Tethys and XDx, Inc.  He was formerly a Director of Idec Pharmaceuticals (Chairman), Athena Neurosciences (Chairman), Signal Pharmaceuticals, Arris Pharmaceuticals, Pharmacopeia, Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Hybritech (Chairman), Genprobe and others.  These companies have pioneered the medical use of molecular biology, monoclonal antibodies, personalized medicine, molecular diagnostics and genomics.

Brook was President and a Director of the Western Association of Venture Capitalists.  He is a currently a Board member of the University of California at San Francisco Medical Foundation, the New Schools Foundation, Stanford’s Bio-X Advisory Council and the Stanford Eye Council.  He was Co-Chair of the five year, $1.4 billion, UCSF Capital Campaign.  In 2007, he was awarded the “UCSF Medal” as their honorary degree equivalent.  In 2008, he was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.  In 2009, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Venture Capital Association.

He was formerly a Director of the Entrepreneurs Foundation, the California Healthcare Institute, the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, the Stanford Graduate School of Business Advisory Council, That Many May See (UCSF) Vision Research Foundation (Chairman), the Georgia Tech Advisory Board and was a founder of TechNet.

Raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Brook graduated in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech and received an MBA from Stanford.

Andy Corley

Corporate Vice President & Global President, Surgical Products
Bausch & Lomb

J. Andy Corley is corporate vice president and global president, Surgical Products, for Bausch & Lomb. He was named to these posts in 2008.

In 1998, Mr. Corley co-founded eyeonics, Inc., which developed a new category of intraocular lens – the accommodating IOL – for use in cataract replacement surgery. He gained FDA approval for innovative crystalens® in 2003, and spearheaded a five-year effort to change CMS policy to allow Medicare beneficiaries to choose presbyopia-correcting IOLs. Eyeonics was acquired by Bausch & Lomb in 2008.

Mr. Corley has over 25 years of experience in the ophthalmic industry and has held various executive positions at American Medical Optics and Allergan Pharmaceuticals. He was co-founder of Chiron Ophthalmics, where he was general manager of the Refractive Surgery division, and where he played a key role in the introduction of LASIK surgery.

He received the 2005 AeA Technology of the Year award and the 2005 Orange County Entrepreneur of the Year award. Mr. Corley serves on the board of directors for Glaukos Corporation, and is a member of the advisory board for the School of Biomedical Engineering at the University of California – Irvine.

Mr. Corley received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree fromGeorgia Southern University,Statesboro, Ga., in 1978.

Eugene de Juan, MD

Founder & Vice Chairman
ForSight Labs, LLC

Renowned retinal surgeon, inventor, and entrepreneur Dr. Eugene de Juan, Jr., serves as Vice-Chairman of ForSight Labs, where he participates as an active inventor and advisor in early-stage ophthalmic device opportunities.

Dr. de Juan, Jr. splits his time between ForSight Labs and UCSF.  He holds the “Jean Kelly Stock Distinguished Chair” in Ophthalmology.  UCSF recruited Dr. de Juan for this special role to augment translation of the many ideas being developed within the academic center.  He continues to see patients, operate and teach at UCSF.

Dr. de Juan, Jr., has participated in the development a number of ophthalmology’s most exciting new technologies with over 100 products and founding a number of venture funded companies, including Second Sight, InnoRx (bought by Surmodics in 2005), and NeoVista, Inc., in addition to ForSight Labs’ first company Transcend Medical, founded in 2005.

Prior to moving to San Francisco, Dr. de Juan, Jr., was a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Southern California and chief executive officer of the Doheny Retina Institute, focusing on innovative techniques for treating blinding retinal disorders through retinal transplantation, macular translocation, robotic surgery, retinal implants and other new procedures, medicines and instruments.

Prior to these positions, Dr. de Juan served at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he was co-director of Vitreoretinal Service, director of the Microsurgery Advanced Design Laboratory (MADLAB) and Joseph E. Green Professor of Ophthalmology.  From 1983 to 1992 he was a member of the medical staff of the Duke University Eye Center, holding joint teaching appointments with the departments of ophthalmology and cell biology.

He is a passionate supporter of ophthalmic education and development and has recently helped established a chair for Ophthalmic Education at Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. de Juan completed his medical degree and internship training at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine.  He served an internship at University of South Alabama Medical Center followed by a residency at the Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, and a fellowship in vitreoretinal surgery at Duke University.  He holds patents on over 40 medical devices and is responsible for more than 200 academic publications.

David Guyer, MD

Partner
SV Life Sciences

David Guyer joined SVLS in 2006.  He serves on the Boards of portfolio companies Link Medicine, Lux Biosciences, NeoVista, Neurotech and Ophthotech as well as the public company Optos.

Prior to these positions, David co-founded and served as CEO and director for six years of Eyetech Pharmaceuticals (former Ticker ‘EYET’), Inc. a biopharmaceutical company that specialized in the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics to treat diseases of the eye.  He led the firm through private financing rounds totaling approximately $170 million, a $157 million initial public offering and a secondary financing.  The company also developed and gained FDA approval for Macugen, a product to treat macular degeneration, which Eyetech partnered with Pfizer in a deal valued at over $750 million.  OSI Pharmaceuticals subsequently acquired Eyetech in a deal valued at $935 million.  Prior to founding Eyetech, Dr. Guyer was professor and chairman of the department of ophthalmology at the NYU School of Medicine.

David received a BSc from Yale College and an MD from Johns Hopkins Medical School.

Richard L. Lindstrom, MD

Founder & Attending Surgeon, Minnesota Eye Consultants
Adjunct Professor Emeritus, and University of Minnesota Department of Ophthalmology

Dr Richard L Lindstrom, founder and attending surgeon of Minnesota Eye Consultants and Adjunct Professor Emeritus at the University Of Minnesota Department Of Ophthalmology, is a board-certified ophthalmologist and internationally recognized leader in corneal, cataract, refractive and laser surgery. He has been at the forefront of ophthalmology's evolutionary changes throughout his career, as a recognized researcher, teacher, inventor, writer, lecturer and highly acclaimed physician and surgeon.

After graduating Magna Cum Laude from the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota, Dr Lindstrom completed his doctorate degree in medicine in 1972. He conducted research, residency and fellowship training in cornea at the University of Minnesota and affiliated hospitals and extended his anterior segment surgery fellowship training at Mary Shiels Hospital in Dallas and was a Heed Fellow in Glaucoma at University Hospital in Salt Lake City. In 1980, Dr Lindstrom returned to the University of Minnesota, where he spent ten years on the faculty of the Department of Ophthalmology, the last two as a full professor and the Harold G. Scheie Research Chair. He continues as Adjunct Professor Emeritus, Chairman of the Vision Foundation, and Associate Director of the Minnesota Lions Eye Bank at the University of Minnesota. He entered private practice in 1989, and has led the growth and expansion of Minnesota Eye Consultants serving as managing partner for 15 years.

He is medical director of Sightpath Medical which includes MSS and Laser Vision. He is also medical director of Refractec.

He is Chief Medical Editor of the USA and International editions of Ocular Surgery News, which reaches 82,000 Ophthalmologists worldwide.

Dr. Lindstrom is past President of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons. He serves on the Executive Committee and is the Chair of the ASCRS Foundation. He is also past President of the International Society of Refractive Surgery, the International Intraocular Implant Club, and the International Refractive Surgery Club. He is the Global Education Liaison of the International Society of Refractive Surgery of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

He is Chairman and CEO of Lindstrom Restoration, a three-generation family business. He has endowed funds supporting the University of Minnesota, Department of Ophthalmology, the Eye Bank Association of America, and the University of Minnesota Tennis Team.

Dr Lindstrom holds over 35 patents in ophthalmology and has developed a number of solutions, intraocular lenses and instruments that are used in clinical practices globally. He serves on the Board of Directors of AcuFocus, Inc, TLC Vision, Occulogix, Refractec, the Minnesota Medical Foundation, and Inner City Tennis.

A frequent lecturer throughout the world on cornea, cataract and refractive surgery, he has presented over 40 named lectures and keynote speeches before professional societies in the U.S. and abroad, giving the Blumenthal Memorial lecture in Jerusalem, Israel, the Benedetto Strampelli Medal Lecture in Rome, Italy, and the Albrecht von Garefe-Vorlesung Innovator's Lecture in Nuremberg, Germany, IIIC Medal Lecture in Berlin, Germany; the Susrata Lecture, Baltimore, MD.

Dr Lindstrom serves on a number of Journal editorial boards, including JCRS, JRS, and Ophthalmic Surgery. He is the Honorary Editor-in-Chief of the U.S./Chinese Journal of Ophthalmology. He has co-edited seven books, published over 350 peer reviewed journal articles and 60 book chapters. His professional affiliations are extensive, including Liaison of the International Society of Refractive Surgery of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

He is the recipient of numerous awards for distinguished service by national and international ophthalmology associations, including the LANS, Barraquer and the first lifetime achievement award from the International Society of Refractive Surgery in October 1995 and also was honoured with another lifetime achievement award in October 2002, the Binkhorst Lecture Award from the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, the Bausch and Lomb Lifetime Achievement Award, April 2005, Benjamin F. Boyd Humanitarian Award in August 2000, and the Paton Award and NACT from the Eye Bank Association of America.

Sabri Markabi, MD

Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President R&D
Alcon Laboratories, Inc.

coming soon.

Jim Mazzo

President – Abbott Medical Optics Inc.
Senior Vice President – Abbott Laboratories

James (Jim) Mazzo is senior vice president at Abbott and president of Abbott Medical Optics Inc. (AMO), the global leader in advanced refractive technologies for eye care professionals and patients. Headquartered in Santa Ana, California, AMO offers market-leading technologies and services designed to address vision disorders at all stages of life.

Mr. Mazzo assumed the position of president following the company’s February 2009 acquisition by Abbott [NYSE: ABT], a global, broad-based healthcare company with more than $30 billion in annual sales. Previously, he was chairman and CEO of Advanced Medical Optics, Inc., a position he assumed following the company’s 2002 spin-off from Allergan.

While CEO of Advanced Medical Optics, Mr. Mazzo grew the company’s sales from $538 million in 2002 to more than $1 billion in 2008 and increased the market cap from approximately $429 million to approximately $1.5 billion. During this time, he also engineered several strategic acquisitions worth more than $3 billion, staking the company to clear leadership positions in the cataract and eye care markets and the global No. 1 position in refractive surgery.

Prior to leading AMO, Mr. Mazzo progressed throughout a 22-year career at Allergan, where he held a variety of senior executive-level positions. He spent approximately 12 years working outside the United States, as president of Allergan’s Europe/Africa/Middle East region, vice president and managing director (Italy), and director of marketing (Canada).

Mr. Mazzo is a strong believer in education and serves on the University of California at Irvine (UCI) Dean’s Board of Directors’ Executive Committee, UCI Dean’s Board of Business and Engineering and is chairman of the UCI Foundation. He is also a trustee for Chapman University and the University of San Diego and is board chairman of AdvaMed.

Samir Patel, MD

President & CEO
OphthoTech

Samir Patel is the Co-founder, President and CEO of Ophthotech Corporation.  He also serves on its Board of Directors.  Previously, Dr. Patel was the co-founder of Eyetech Pharmaceuticals where he was the Chief Medical Officer, and served on its Board of Directors.

Prior to joining Ophthotech, Dr. Patel spent over a decade in academic medicine.  He joined the University of Chicago, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science in 1991 where he served as the Director of the Retina Service and the residency program and was an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology.  His area of academic interest focused on cell based therapies for Age Related Macular Degeneration and while at the University of Chicago, he was amongst the first to perform human retinal transplant in the world.

Dr. Patel received his Medical Degree from the University of Massachusetts Medical School and ophthalmology training from the University of Chicago.  He received his training in retinal surgery from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary at the Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Patel has been a consultant to a number of ophthalmic biotechnology companies, and a consultant to multiple healthcare venture firms.  He has served on the scientific advisory board of Aerie Pharmaceuticals.  Dr. Patel has also served as a director of Eyetech, EyeGate Pharma and Mimetogen.  Currently, in addition to Ophthotech, he serves on the board of directors of AFER-ARVO.

Scott M. Whitcup, MD

Executive Vice President, Research & Development and Chief Scientific Officer
Allergan, Inc.

Dr. Whitcup has been Executive Vice President, Research and Development, since July 2004.  Dr. Whitcup joined Allergan in 2000.  Prior to joining Allergan, Dr. Whitcup served as the Clinical Director of the National Eye Institute at the National Institutes of Health.  As Clinical Director, Dr. Whitcup’s leadership was vital in building the clinical research program and developing new therapies for ophthalmic diseases.  Dr. Whitcup graduated from Cornell University and Cornell University Medical College.  He completed residency training in internal medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles and in ophthalmology at Harvard University, as well as fellowship training in immunology at the National Institutes of Health.  Dr. Whitcup is a faculty member at the Jules Stein Eye Institute/David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.  He holds an M.B.A from Wharton School of the University Pennsylvania.