Board of Directors

Dr. Yerxa is President and CEO of Opus Genetics. Dr. Yerxa has more than 25 years’ experience in biotechnology, drug development and in translating promising research discoveries into clinical milestones and treatments in the pulmonary, oral health, cardiovascular, HIV and ophthalmology fields. Dr. Yerxa served as CEO of the Foundation Fighting Blindness where he established the RD Fund, a venture philanthropy investment fund. Prior to joining the Foundation, Dr. Yerxa served as president and co-founder of Envisia Therapeutics, a company focused on developing novel ocular sustained delivery therapies for the front and back of the eye. He also has previously held founding and executive positions in several ophthalmology-based R&D organizations, including Liquidia Technologies, Clearside Biomedical, Parion Sciences and Inspire Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Yerxa serves on the board of directors at Clearside Biomedical and Nacuity Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Yerxa holds 60 U.S. patents. An inventor of DIQUAS™, an innovative treatment for dry eye approved in Japan, he has been involved in the discovery and development of investigational new drugs, Phase 3 clinical programs, new drug applications, and drug approvals. Dr. Yerxa earned his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from University of California, Irvine, and BA in chemistry from the University of California, San Diego.