David S. Boyer, M.D. is a Board-certified ophthalmologist specializing in the treatment of diseases of the retina and vitreous. He is Senior Partner at
Retina-Vitreous Associates Medical Group with offices in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, North Hollywood, Torrance, Pasadena, Tarzana, Glendale and La Mirada, California.
Dr. Boyer is an Adjunct Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology with the University of Southern California/Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles, CA.
He has an extensive research background and is currently an investigator for various clinical trials. He is one of the leading retinal clinical researchers in the country for new treatments in macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema. A widely-published author and avid lecturer, Dr. Boyer lectures nationally and internationally on retinal research and the innovative approach to the treatment of retinal diseases.
Dr. Kay is a board-certified ophthalmologist and vitreoretinal surgeon and has been conducting clinical research since 2012. Her focus and passion are inherited retinal diseases, including but not limited to Stargardt disease, Retinitis Pigmentosa, and Achromatopsia. Dr. Kay is the Director of Research at Vitreoretinal Associates in Gainesville, Florida. She and her research team aim to improve the lives of people diagnosed with these and other diseases, as well as prevent blindness. Currently, the clinical trial team is conducting over 20 different studies targeting a multitude of retinal diseases. She was previously an Assistant Professor at the University of Florida and is currently Affiliate faculty at the University of South Florida. Dr. Kay is a member of the Macula Society, Retina Society, and American Society of Retina Specialists.
Arshad M. Khanani, MD, MA, FASRS is the Managing Partner, Director of Clinical Research, and Director of Fellowship at Sierra Eye Associates, as well as a Clinical Professor at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine.
Dr. Khanani founded the clinical research department at Sierra Eye Associates, which has since become one of the nation’s leading centers for clinical research. He has served as the principal investigator in over 120 clinical trials and has been a top enroller for several Phase 1-3 trials. He is also at the forefront of several collaborative studies examining real-world outcomes for newly approved treatments. Additionally, Dr. Khanani has been the first to perform surgical procedures in various clinical trials focused on sustained drug delivery and gene therapy. His extensive body of work includes numerous publications in highly regarded journals such as The Lancet, Ophthalmology, and JAMA Ophthalmology.
Dr. Khanani is a lead principal investigator for several ongoing clinical trials and contributes to national and international clinical trial steering committees and scientific advisory boards. These efforts are aimed at developing new treatment options for patients with retinal diseases. A sought-after speaker, he is frequently invited to present at major national and international meetings. In 2021, Dr. Khanani founded the Clinical Trials at the Summit meeting to foster discussion on clinical trial design and data.
Dr. Khanani is a distinguished member of both the Macula Society and the Retina Society, and he has earned various honors throughout his career. In 2019, he was named Healthcare Heroes Physician of the Year by Nevada Business Magazine for his dedication to ophthalmology. In 2023, he was chosen to deliver the prestigious Ernst Bodenheimer Memorial Lecture at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Khanani was also the recipient of the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) Presidents’ Young Investigator Award in 2021 and the ASRS Presidential Award in 2024.
Dr. Mark Pennesi is the Director of Inherited Retinal Degeneration Clinic at the Retina Foundation of the Southwest as well as an adjunct Professorship in Ophthalmology and Molecular and Medical Genetics at Oregon Health & Science University’s Casey Eye Institute. Dr. Pennesi attended the University of Pennsylvania where he graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering and was awarded the Herman P. Schwann award in bioengineering for exemplary scholarship.
Dr. Pennesi pursued combined at MD/PhD at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. He received numerous awards while in graduate school including the John J. Trentin Award for earning the highest GPA in his class and the BRASS scholarship for playing an active role in community service. This was followed by a residency in Ophthalmology at University of California – San Francisco, where he was awarded the Hogan-Garcia Award for having the best resident research project. In 2011 Dr. Pennesi received the ARVO/Alcon Early Career Clinician-Scientist Research Award. He is also the recipient of an FFB career development award, an RPB career development award, and an FFB enhanced career development award. He was awarded the Alcon Young Investigator Award in 2014 and a Residency Teaching award in 2015. He has also been elected into both the Macula Society and Retina Society.
Dr. Pennesi is a clinician scientist with a passion for developing novel therapeutic regimens for inherited retinal diseases. He has published over 175 peer reviewed publications in the field on inherited retinal degenerations. He has been the PI or Co-PI on numerous first in human clinical trials including: gene augmentation therapy for RPE65-related retinopathy, ABCA4-related retinopathy, GUCY2D-related retinopathy, Type IB Usher syndrome, CNGA3 and CNGB3-related achromatopsia, X-linked retinoschisis, X-linked retinitis pigmentosa, and choroideremia. He was a principal investigator on the Editas Brilliance trial where the first patient in the world was treated with gene editing from CEP290-related retinopathy.
Cam Gallagher has more than 30 years of experience in the life science and biotech industry with a focus on new company formation, corporate development, marketing, operations, and early-stage investing. Mr. Gallagher has served as a member of the Ocuphire (now Opus) Board since January 2019 and Chair since December 2019. He currently is President, CEO and Board Member at Alessa Therapeutics. He was previously co-founder and board member of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ZNTL) from December 2014 to November 2024. He also served as President of Zentalis from May 2022 to November 2024. He also currently serves on the board of directors of SelectION and Immusoft. He was previously a founding board member at VelosBio, which was acquired by Merck in 2020. Prior to joining Zentalis as President, he was a Director and Chief Business Officer at RetroSense Therapeutics, which was acquired by Allergan in 2016. Mr. Gallagher was Managing Director of Nerveda, LLC, a life science seed fund he co-founded in June 2007. Prior to these roles, he held management positions at Oncternal, Zavante, Verus Pharma, CV Therapeutics and Dura Pharma. Mr. Gallagher holds an M.B.A. from the University of San Diego and a B.S. in Business Administration from Ohio University.
Sean Ainsworth is Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board at Immusoft, a Seattle-based cell therapy company, and has 25 years of experience in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. Mr. Ainsworth has served as a member of the Ocuphire (now Opus) Board since April 2018 and currently serves as the Lead Independent Director of the Board.He is also a co-founder and Chairman of the Board at Ray Therapeutics, a clinical-stage gene therapy company. Previously, he founded and led RetroSense Therapeutics, a gene therapy company he advanced into human clinical trials and sold to Allergan in 2016 in a deal valued at up to $555 million. Earlier, he was deeply involved in the launch of Compendia Bioscience, Inc., and GeneVivo, LLC. At both, he assisted in developing business models, licensing technologies, building management teams, and securing capital and first customers. Life Technologies acquired Compendia BioScience in 2012. Mr. Ainsworth founded Ainsworth BioConsulting in 2004 to provide licensing, as well as strategic and business planning services to the life science and entrepreneurial community. Prior professional experience also includes research at the Medical Biology Institute (now Avanir Pharmaceuticals, developers of Abreva, the leading cold sore medication), intellectual property at Koyama and Associates in Tokyo, and international corporate development consulting at The Mattson Jack Group. Mr. Ainsworth earned a B.S. in Microbiology from University of California, San Diego and an M.B.A. in strategy and finance from Washington University in St. Louis.
Ms. Susan Benton is a strategic business consultant and owner of i2eye Consulting, LLC. Since July 2024, she has been a strategic advisor and consultant to six ophthalmic start-up companies. In addition to consulting, she joined the Ocuphire (now Opus) Board in November 2020, and she also sits on the boards of Tarsier Pharma since March 2019, and Omma Therapeutics since July 2024. Ms. Benton was previously a Member of the Board at Ripple Therapeutics. Ms. Benton has more than 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. For the past five years, Ms. Benton served as the CEO/President of Thea Pharma U.S. from July 2019 to July 2024 and built the business from scratch to a $100M business through the acquisition of products and the successful approval/ launch of the IYUZEH® and IVIZIA® brands. Prior to Thea, Ms. Benton served at the Global Commercial Lead for new ophthalmic products and ran the Innovation team responsible for early-stage research pipeline. Additionally, she was the Head of M&A for Shire where she built the early and mid-stage pipeline prior to the Takeda acquisition. Her ophthalmic career also includes executive leadership roles at B+L and Sirion Therapeutics. Susan holds an MBA from the University of South Florida and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Muhlenberg College.
James S. Manuso, Ph.D., M.B.A., Chairman and CEO of Talfinium Investments, Inc., and Chairman of TuHura Biosciences Inc (Nasdaq:HURA) has served on the Ocuphire (now Opus) Board since January 2019. Dr. Manuso served as an international biotechnology/pharmaceutical industry CEO and management consultant for over 30 years. He co-founded multiple biotech companies where he held C-level management positions. As chairman and CEO of Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Dr. Manuso led the sale of the Company to Otsuka Pharmaceuticals. A former Board Member of the Biotechnology Industry Association, he has served on the boards of several private and public companies in the U.S., UK, France, Canada and Ireland. Dr. Manuso earned a B.A. with honors in Economics and Chemistry from New York University, a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology and Genetics from the New School University, and an Executive M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.
Richard Rodgers has served on our Board since November 2020 and served as our Interim Chief Executive Officer and President from April 2023 through October 2023. Prior to his appointment as Interim Chief Executive Officer and President in April 2023, Mr. Rodgers served as chair of the Audit Committee and member of the Compensation Committee since November 2020. Mr. Rodgers previously served as a member of the board of Rexahn from 2014 until November 2020. Mr. Rodgers currently serves on the board of directors and as the chair of the audit committee and member of the compensation committee of Ardelyx, Inc., and Novavax, Inc. Mr. Rodgers was previously Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer of TESARO, Inc., an oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company that he co-founded, from March 2010 until August 2013. He served as the Chief Financial Officer from June 2009 to February 2010 of Abraxis BioScience, Inc. which was subsequently acquired by Celgene Corporation. Prior to that, Mr. Rodgers served as Senior Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer of MGI PHARMA, INC., from 2004 until its acquisition by Eisai Co., Ltd. in January 2008. He has held finance and accounting positions at several private and public companies, including Arthur Andersen. Mr. Rodgers holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Financial Accounting from St. Cloud State University and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Business.
Dr. Magrath, MD, currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and a Board member of Opus Genetics, which was recently acquired by Ocuphire Pharma during his tenure there as CEO. Dr. Magrath is a board-certified ophthalmologist with extensive clinical, business, and financial experience. Most recently, Dr. Magrath was CEO of Lexitas Pharma Services, a leading contract research organization in ophthalmology. Lexitas experienced a substantial growth in headcount, expanded into multiple additional service offerings, including an image reading center and a significant shift into retinal diseases, and was acquired by a top-tier private equity group during Dr. Magrath’s tenure. Prior to Lexitas, Dr. Magrath served as the medical director at Hovione, where the team he worked with was responsible for the development of proprietary assets in ophthalmology, dermatology, and respiratory. Dr. Magrath began his career as an equity analyst at Edison Investment Research where he covered small and mid-sized pharma and biotechnology companies. Dr. Magrath holds a Master of Applied Economics from Johns Hopkins University, a Master of Business Administration from The Citadel, and a Medical Degree from the Medical University of South Carolina.
