SureFire Medical has named pharma veteran Mary Szela as its president, CEO and board member, succeeding founder James Chomas, who has served as the company’s chief executive and president since 2009.
Chomas will assume the role of chief technology officer and oncology strategy officer, focusing his efforts on the the company’s oncology drug-delivery tech.
“Immune therapies are reshaping the battle against cancer. The innovative application of technology at Surefire positions the company to become a leading medical device provider in the treatment of cancer,” chairman Mats Wahlström said in prepared remarks. “Mary brings the leadership capabilities necessary to fulfill the full potential of what Surefire’s technology can do to transform cancer care on a global scale. Her proven commercial track record, coupled with her passion and commitment to patients, aligns with the company’s mission to better deliver quality of life for cancer patients.
The brilliance of Jim Chomas is his ability to look at medical problems and solve them by creating technologies that help physicians successfully treat liver cancer. As the founder of Surefire, he built the company to where it is today and will continue to play an active role focused on innovations that overcome unsolved medical challenges. We’re grateful for all Jim does to advance oncology drug delivery and Surefire’s mission.”
Previously, Szela worked as CEO of Novelion Therapeutics, as well as Melinta Therapeutics. She also served as president of Abbott Laboratories’ $8 billion pharmaceutical business.
“As with millions of other people who have been directly or indirectly affected by cancer, I’m thrilled to be leading a company making a difference in treating the disease. The application of technology at Surefire is already making a difference, and guiding the company to expand its reach to patients is my primary goal. I’m fortunate to partner with Jim as a member of my staff along with the talented team at Surefire to advance technologies that can truly impact patient care,” Szela said.
Ocular Therapeutix names SVP of technical operations, VP of quality
Ocular Therapeutix (NSDQ:OCUL) this month named Kevin Hanley as SVP of technical operations and Naymisha Patel as VP of quality.
“We are thrilled to welcome both Kevin and Naymisha to Ocular Therapeutix,” president & CEO Antony Mattessich said in prepared remarks. “Since receiving the Complete Response Letter from FDA for Dextenza last July, we have significantly transitioned our senior management team, bringing in over 100 years of combined pharmaceutical and biologic leadership experience to maximize the opportunity around our technology platform. Kevin’s appointment completes the senior management transition and is key to our focus on ensuring that our core Dextenza manufacturing capabilities meet cGMP standards and can supply anticipated commercial needs.”
“Naymisha’s experience leading teams as well as building quality systems and overseeing regulatory compliance will be extremely valuable as we prepare for the resubmission of the Dextenza NDA,” Daniel Bollag, SVP of regulatory affairs & quality, added.
Previously, Hanley held leadership roles at Pfizer and Wyeth BioPharma. Patel most recently served as the head of global quality at Prothena Corp.
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Leonard Osser retakes corner office at Milestone Scientific – for now
After its former CEO resigned in October, Milestone Scientific (NYSE:MLSS) appointed chairman Leslie Bernhard to serve as interim chief executive of the medtech company. But early last month, the company revealed that the search for a permanent CEO is taking longer than expected.
While Milestone continues its ongoing search for a chief exec, former CEO Leonard Osser is slated to retake the corner office.
“As founder of the company, Leonard Osser has been instrumental in both the growth and strategic vision for the Company. While we are continuing our search for a new CEO, this process has been slower than expected because the Company has been focused on several ongoing strategic initiatives that Leonard is spearheading. For this reason, he has graciously agreed to resume the role as CEO pending completion of these major projects and selection of a new long-term CEO. We greatly appreciate his support and believe his continued involvement both at the executive and board level will be invaluable to our long-term success,” Bernhard said in prepared remarks.
“I am more excited than ever about the long-term outlook for Milestone given the recent FDA approval of our epidural instrument on the heels of our successful clinical trial, the planned launch of our cosmetic instrument and the success of our distribution partnership with Henry Schein for the dental instrument. We have garnered significant interest in each of these instruments, as well as others, and we look forward to providing further updates in the months ahead.”
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Eyenovia appoints chief finance exec
Eyenovia this month named John Gandolfo as chief financial officer, retroactively-effective Dec. 18, 2017.
Gandolfo has spent more than 30 years in the life sciences and medical device sectors. He most recently served as CFO of Xtant Medical.
“We are pleased to welcome John to our growing team. His proven track record as a financial executive will be invaluable to the company as we continue to advance our extensive clinical development pipeline, and his deep relationships in the investment community and with Wall Street analysts will provide us with a strong foundation as we continue to grow our company and operations. We look forward to his financial oversight as we bring multiple micro-therapeutic clinical programs into Phase III development in 2018,” Eyenovia CEO Sean Ianchulev said in prepared remarks.
“I am very pleased to join Eyenovia’s experienced leadership team at this exciting stage of development, and believe that my broad financial and operational experience will be a valuable asset,” Gandolfo added. “Eyenovia’s unique micro-dosing technology holds immense potential in providing a safer, more effective and more precise delivery option for ophthalmologists and patients. I look forward to working with the team to successfully execute on the company’s multiple late stage programs as we work to bring new and innovative treatments to the market.”
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