Ocugen, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing a pipeline of innovative therapies that address rare and underserved eye diseases, today announced the appointment of James G. Murphy, CPA, to the role of Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Murphy brings more than 30 years of senior financial executive experience, serving previously as CFO for both public and privately-held life science companies, and helping to raise more than $1.5 billion for the companies he has served.
Shankar Musunuri, PhD, MBA, Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of Ocugen, remarked, "The addition of Mr. Murphy as Chief Financial Officer further strengthens our executive management team and positions Ocugen for success as we advance our two lead candidates through pivotal clinical studies. His extensive financial background and industry expertise, as well as his significant fund-raising and transactional experience, are invaluable assets for Ocugen as we seek to execute multiple clinical trials and prepare to commercialize our first product, upon potential FDA approval, as early as 2020."
Mr. Murphy commented, "Ocugen has a compelling story and a diverse pipeline that should lead to multiple opportunities to address important medical needs in ophthalmology. I am excited to join the team and contribute to advancing these product candidates by pursuing financial and operational strategies that enable the company to navigate challenges successfully and achieve meaningful clinical, regulatory, and commercial milestones."
Most recently, Mr. Murphy served as CFO for VenatoRx Pharmaceuticals, and held previous senior executive positions at NMS Labs, Immunicon Corporation, and Apollon, Inc. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of Biomimetic Therapeutics where he served as Chair of the Audit Committee. Mr. Murphy also has extensive merger and acquisition experience, having led or participated in the purchase and sale of more than 20 companies, including both public and privately-held companies. Mr. Murphy holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting with Honors from Villanova University and is a Certified Public Accountant (Active).
About Ocugen, Inc.
Ocugen, Inc. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing a pipeline of innovative therapies that address rare and underserved eye diseases. The Company's lead clinical candidate (OCU300) is currently in Phase 3 for patients with ocular graft versus host disease (oGVHD) and is the first and only therapeutic with orphan drug designation for oGVHD, providing certain regulatory and economic benefits. The Company's second lead candidate for patients with dry eye disease (OCU310) is also expected to enter pivotal clinical trials in 2018. Both OCU300 and OCU310 leverage Ocugen's patented OcuNanoE – Ocugen's ONE Platform™ technology to enhance the efficacy of topical ophthalmic therapeutics. Ocugen is also developing novel biologic therapies for retinitis pigmentosa (OCU100) and wet AMD (OCU200), as well as a groundbreaking modifier gene therapy platform with potential to address a broad spectrum of inherited retinal disorders (OCU400). For more information, please visit www.ocugen.com.
