SpliceBio, a genetic medicines company harnessing protein splicing to develop the next generation of gene therapies, is pleased to announce the appointment of Aniz Girach, MD, as Chief Medical Officer.
Dr Girach is an ophthalmologist with more than 25 years’ industry experience in the field of Medical Retina and Genetic Therapy for inherited retinal diseases.
He has been involved in the development and approval of four drugs in ophthalmology. Dr Girach was Global Head of Ophthalmology at Merck & Co. and Vice President, Clinical Development at Alcon Laboratories.
At Oxurion NV (formerly ThromboGenics) he was Global Head of Ophthalmology and Chief Medical Officer where he oversaw the development and approval of Ocriplasmin (Jetrea), a first in class biologic therapy for retinal disease.
Dr Girach was Chief Medical Officer at Nightstar Therapeutics where he led and oversaw the development of its gene therapy programs for inherited retinal diseases, prior to its acquisition by Biogen for $800 million.
Prior to joining SpliceBio, he led the development of genetic therapies for inherited retinal diseases at ProQR Therapeutics NV as its Chief Medical Officer.
Miquel Vila-Perelló, PhD, Chief Executive Officer, and cofounder of SpliceBio, said: “Dr Girach joins SpliceBio at an important time of growth as we accelerate our lead programme targeting Stargardt disease into clinical development."
"Dr Girach’s unrivalled experience in the field of ophthalmology and genetic medicines will be instrumental as we further strengthen our leadership team and maximise the potential of our proprietary Protein Splicing platform.”
Aniz Girach, MD, Chief Medical Officer of SpliceBio, commented: “Inherited retinal diseases are a heterogenous group of rare diseases that can lead to severe visual disability and blindness, affecting approximately 5.5 million people worldwide."
"With its next generation Protein Splicing platform, SpliceBio is pioneering a new gene therapy modality which has the potential to transform the treatment paradigm for inherited retinal diseases and I am delighted to be joining the stellar leadership team at a pivotal time for the company.”
