John Han, PharmD named Vice President, Medical Affairs for Opthea Limited

Opthea Limited has appointed of John Han, PharmD, to the role of Vice President, Medical Affairs, effective April 9, 2024. Han reports to Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Frederic Guerard, PharmD, and has join the Opthea Executive Management Team.

Han brings over 20 years of experience building medical affairs programs and partnering across organizations to lead pre- and post-launch initiatives for medicines in ophthalmology and retinal disease. These skills are valuable as Opthea’s lead product candidate, sozinibercept, is being evaluated in two pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials.

Along with his experience in launch initiative, Han has served in senior leadership positions in medical and scientific affairs at leading biopharmaceutical companies. His previous roles include positions at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Chiron Corporation, Amgen Inc. and Bayer AG. He joins Opthea from Adverum Biotechnologies, Inc. where he led the development of the Medical Affairs function.

Guerard, CEO of Opthea shared the company’s enthusiasm for Han’s appointment in the press release, saying, “We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Han to the Opthea team. As we get close to completing the enrollment in our second Phase 3 trial (ShORe) with sozinibercept in wet AMD, we are initiating our launch preparations. Dr. Han’s established track record of defining and executing effective medical affairs strategies and supporting pre-launch activities of new therapies for patients with retinal disease will be invaluable to the potential success of sozinibercept.”

Han also commented on his new role, saying, “Most of my career in medical affairs has been dedicated to developing and launching transformational products in ophthalmology and retinal diseases. As a result of this work, I have a firsthand understanding of the incredible challenges faced by patients with wet AMD. The opportunity to contribute to the development of a groundbreaking therapy that has the potential to be the first product in more than 15 years to provide superior and meaningful visual outcomes in patients is what brought me to Opthea. As we work towards the release of top line results for the sozinibercept Phase 3 program in mid-2025, I look forward to working with this incredibly dedicated team to bring this product candidate to patients.”

For further information on John Han, PharmD, visit Opthea’s website.

Reference:

1. Opthea Appoints John Han, PharmD, as VP Medical Affairs. Opthea Limited. Published April 8, 2024. Accessed April 9, 2024. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/04/08/2859653/0/en/Opthea-Appoints-John-Han-PharmD-as-VP-Medical-Affairs.html