 |
Retinal Innovation Symposium and Dining In The Dark
March Event in Southern California Already Attracting Hundreds of
Attendees
Retinal Degenerative Research Experts Will Gather With Drug and
Device Developers, To Speed Development of Important New Modalities
Event Co-Chaired by Versant Ventures William J. Link, PhD, and
Internationally Recognized Retinal UCI Specialist Dr. Baruch Kuppermann
NEWPORT BEACH, CA (March 4, 2010) -- As part of an on-going effort to
benefit millions of Americans who are losing their sight to retinal
degenerative diseases, the annual Retinal Innovation Symposium and
Dining in the Dark event will be held March 25 at the Fairmont Newport
Beach Hotel in Newport Beach, California.
The third annual Retinal Innovation Symposium, a one-day event, will
bring leaders in translational academic research together with
developers of drugs and devices focused on retinal degenerative
diseases. Presentations will be made by experts in academic, industry
and healthcare investing in cutting-edge projects. There will also be
panel discussions and presentations by venture-backed companies
developing drugs and devices in this arena. The Symposium will be
co-chaired by Baruch Kuppermann, MD, Ph.D., a renowned professor in the
Department of Ophthalmology at the University of California at Irvine,
and William J. Link, Ph.D., a managing director of leading healthcare
venture capital firm Versant Ventures (www.versantventures.com). Versant
has 16 portfolio companies from its legacy and current investments in
the ophthalmology area—more than any other venture capital firm in the
world.
The Symposium will be immediately followed by the fourth annual Orange
County Dining in the Dark, a unique, sensory awareness experience in
which dinner guests participate in a dining adventure in complete
darkness. They will rely solely on their senses of smell, sound and
touch and will be served by blind waiters and waitresses. Recognizing
efforts to fight blindness, the dinner will honor Gavin S. Herbert,
founder and chairman emeritus of Allergan Inc., and Roger F. Steinert,
MD, U-C Irvine’s Ophthalmology Department chairman and director of the
university’s Gavin Herbert Eye Institute.
Both events are organized and sponsored by The Foundation Fighting
Blindness, the world’s largest private funding source for retinal
degenerative disease, as well as private donors.
The mission of both events will be to continue to drive the research and
introduction of medical products that will provide preventions,
treatments and cures for people affected by retinitis pigmentosa,
age-related macular degeneration (AMD), Usher syndrome and similar
diseases. The most common of these afflictions is AMD, which affects
more than 10 million adults in the United States alone and is the
leading cause of blindness in people over age 55.
“Most Americans know more about the problems of obesity and related
complications, such as diabetes,” said Kuppermann, MD, Ph.D. “But
retinal degenerative disease is another gigantic problem, and it doesn’t
attract nearly as much attention even though some retinal diseases, such
as diabetic retinopathy, are as serious an affliction as diabetes.”
“Some studies have shown that more than half of elderly respondents have
never heard of AMD or know little about it,” Kuppermann added. “People
must become more educated about these diseases because intervention is
typically more effective sooner, rather than later. That’s one reason
why we host the symposium.”
A decade ago, treatment for retinal diseases was very limited. Today,
there are several products on the market and many more in development.
For example, Genentech’s Lucentis drug is injected in patients with
“wet” AMD every four to six weeks to substantially mitigate their loss
of visual acuity. This five-year-old drug treats hundreds of thousands
of patients annually and has sales of about $2 billion annually.
Drs. Link and Kuppermann believe that the pace of improvements in
retinal disease treatment will accelerate over the next decade, building
on improvements in improved refractive surgery, including safer and less
invasive procedures. The recent success of new drugs and technologies
will be a major stimulant, as well as the aging baby boomer market.
”The ophthalmic industry has made significant gains in improving the
state of the art, but it is still really only in its infancy,” said
William J. Link, Ph.D. “The industry needs to accomplish more, and it
will. Awareness of retinal degenerative diseases is rapidly growing, and
the heightened development of successful modalities is driving more
money into this space.”
Symposium presenters and dinner guests will include invited keynote
speaker, Douglas C. Wallace, Ph.D., Professor of Pediatrics, Human
Genetics Division and Metabolism, and Director of the Center for
Molecular and Mitochondrial Medicine and Genetics, University of
California, Irvine. In addition to Dr. Wallace, an industry panel will
be held with business development and R&D executives from the ophthalmic
industry. This panel will be moderated by Dr. Scott Whitcup, Executive
Vice President of R&D of Allergan, Inc. Another panel will discuss
mid-and-late-stage companies that are approaching market launch or are
already in the market. This panel will be hosted by James V. Mazzo,
Senior Vice President of Abbott Medical Optics.
For more information, please contact William Link at Versant Ventures
(949) 729- 4000 or Amy Thompson at Foundation for Fighting Blindness at
(310) 207-2089 or email Amy Thompson at
athompson@blindness.org or
visit
www.blindless.org.
About Versant Ventures
Versant Ventures is a healthcare-focused venture capital firm
specializing in seed, early stage, and selective later-stage investments
in medical devices, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. Founded in 1999,
the firm consists of a seasoned team of 10 managing directors with more
than 170 years of venture capital investing experience and approximately
145 years of operating experience. It currently manages 95 companies in
its portfolio and more than $1.6 billion in capital. Versant Ventures
has three offices in California in Silicon Valley, Orange County and San
Francisco. For more information, visit www.versantventures.com
Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB)
FFB is committed to driving research that will provide prevention,
treatment and cures for people affected by retinitis pigmentosa, macular
degeneration, Usher syndrome and other retinal degenerative diseases. As
a non-profit foundation, based in Owing Mills, Maryland, the Foundation
has raised more than $350 million since its inception in 1971 and
currently funds 151 grants at 80 institutions. It has 50 volunteer-led
groups across the United States. For more information, visit
www.blindless.org
or email Amy Thompson at
athompson@blindness.org.
About The Retinal Innovation Symposium
The Retinal Innovation Symposium sponsors day-long sessions that strive
to continue driving the research and introduction of medical products
that will provide preventions, treatments and cures for people affected
by retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration, Usher
syndrome and similar diseases. The third annual Orange County Retinal
Innovation Symposium will be held March 25, 2010 at the Fairmont Hotel
Newport Beach and be co-chaired by Barry Kupperman MD, PhD, professor
and chief of retina services in the Department of Ophthalmology at the
University of California at Irvine, and William J. Link, PhD, a managing
director at leading healthcare venture capital firm Versant Ventures
(www.versantventures.com). The Symposium will feature a series of
presentations by corporate leaders and major researchers in the
ophthalmologic industry regarding cutting-edge products focused on
retinal degenerative diseases, as well as updates by private ophthalmic
companies on the status of their development work.
|
|
