Eyevensys, the French developer of a new non-viral gene therapy process to treat ocular illnesses that enables prolonged production of all therapeutic proteins through electrotransfer, has hired Dr Ivan Cohen-Tanugi as CEO.
Cohen-Tanugi first plans to conclude Eyevensys’ preclinical tests over the next 12 months. The first human tests are planned within 18 months.
The Eyevensys process is an electrotransfer of plasmids in the ciliary muscle of the eye. The treatment is said to be less invasive than current methods and allows injections to be administered from either once a fortnight or monthly to once every six months. This reduces the dose of drugs and proteins, consequently reducing side effects.
The first preclinical results from animal subjects have shown therapeutic protein expressions for up to nine months.
‘I am delighted to have been given the responsibility of leading Eyevensys through to the next stages of its development,’ said Cohen-Tanugi.
‘Eyevensys is backed by stable and trusted investors. A new financing round is planned for this year. We hope to sign up new stakeholders, notably on an international level, to diversify our support and proceed up to Phase II.’
Cohen-Tanugi has more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnological industry. Before joining Eyevensys, he was Vice President and General Manager of the Biologics and Speciality unit at Teva Pharmaceuticals in the US. He has considerable experience in biologics and the pharmaceutical industry on an international level, notably in the fields of sales and marketing, global product launches, R&D team leadership and financing. He worked in Switzerland for many years for Roche Pharma, then for Amgen International and finally for Teva Pharmaceuticals. He started his career at Sanofi, where he held various positions in France and the US.
