These diseases include Retinitis Pigmentosa, Dry Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), and Stargardt Disease. We are developing a proprietary platform technology, employing ambient light-sensitive Multi-Characteristic Opsins (MCO) that has potential to treat a broad range of genetic illnesses.
As Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Nanoscope Therapeutics, Sulagna Bhattacharya leads a talented and diverse team dedicated to the development of sight-restoring therapies for the millions of patients worldwide blinded by inherited retinal diseases for which no cure exists.
Ms. Bhattacharya is a serial entrepreneur having co-founded several biotech and biomedical device/diagnostic companies. Before entering the biotechnology world, Ms. Bhattacharya had decades of experience in management consulting at Deloitte and Hitachi Consulting. Her specialties included business intelligence and risk management. She played a key role in seven full life cycle project implementations including multi-billion-dollar mergers and acquisitions and later founded a Management Consulting Company.
Currently, Ms. Bhattacharya sits on the Board of Directors of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) where she serves on the Health Section Governing Board, and the Emerging Companies Section Governing Board. She also serves on multiple comittees includingthe Capital Formation Committee, and the Corporate Governance Committee. She is also serving as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School.
Ms. Bhattacharya has been recognized as an EY Entrepreneur of the Year regional winner (2022) and a Top 25 Women Leaders in Biotechnology for 2023.
She has B.Tech degrees in Electrical, Electronics and Communications, as well as an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.
Samarendra Mohanty (Co-Founder/President) is an inventor & serial entrepreneur with 20+ years experience in Biomedical Sciences. He is Co-Founder of several Biotechs and Biomedical device /diagnostic companies (developed & commercialized $100K+ biomedical instruments.)
Dr. Mohanty obtained M.Tech in Applied Optics from the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi and a PhD in (Bio)Physics from the Indian Institute of Sciences-Bangalore.
His extensive Biomedical Technologies experience includes serving as Professor/Senior Scientist at the University of Texas; University of California, Irvine; Center for Adv. Tech (India); Int. Mol. Biotech (Germany); Univ. Pavia (Italy); NUS (Singapore); and University of St. Andrews (UK). He has authored over 200 international patents and publications in leading journals including Nature and Nature Photonics.
He is the Principal Investigator for major grants from the National Eye Institute including Audacious Goal Initiative and Bioengineering Research grants. He serves on the editorial board of journals and chairs an international conference on optogenetics. He is the winner of a 2019 Healthcare Heroes award (Fort Worth Business Press), Retinal Organoid Challenge Award, Audacious Goal Initiative Award (NIH), Finalist of Tech Titan, and NIH-Director’s Innovator Award.
Dr. Samuel Barone is a board-certified ophthalmologist and vitreoretinal surgeon with clinical development and regulatory experience across a range of indications in ophthalmology, dermatology, rare diseases, and cell and gene therapy. Before joining Nanoscope, Dr. Barone served as chief medical officer at Gemini Therapeutics, where he oversaw the development of novel therapeutics targeting the complement system to treat genetically defined age-related macular degeneration and systemic renal disease. He has also served as chief medical officer of Veloce BioPharma and of Avalanche Biotechnologies, and senior vice president of clinical development for Adverum Biotechnologies.
Dr. Barone garnered regulatory experience as a senior medical officer at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the Office of Cellular, Tissue, and Gene Therapies (now Office of Therapeutic Products) and served as subject matter expert and developed guidance documents. He has global experience in overseeing clinical trials in the US as well as Australia and India.
Early in his career, he served on active duty as a flight surgeon for the United States Air Force. Dr. Barone received his M.D. from Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine and completed his residency in ophthalmology at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai. He completed a medical and surgical retina fellowship at the University of California, San Diego.
Michael Marquez brings over 17 years of finance experience, including deep experience leading finance and growth strategies for companies in the ophthalmic space. Before joining Nanoscope Therapeutics Mr. Marquez was CFO of TearLab, an ophthalmic diagnostics company with a point-of-care osmolarity test to aid in the diagnosis of dry eye disease. He served as CFO of Global Surgical at Alcon Laboratories, a global medical company specializing in eye care products. Prior to Alcon, Mr. Marquez worked for Price Waterhouse Coopers serving tax and audit clients in the insurance and manufacturing sectors. He has a Master of Science in accounting from The University of Texas at Arlington and a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from The University of Texas at Austin. He is also a licensed Certified Public Accountant in Texas.
Raymond Kaczmarek has provided executive leadership across the gene therapy manufacturing industry. He was most recently CEO of Genezen, a CDMO specializing in viral vector manufacturing services spanning process development, GMP viral vector manufacturing, and analytics. Before Genezen, Mr. Kaczmarek was Vice President of GMP operations at TriLink Biotechnologies, a CDMO specializing in the synthesis of nucleic acids, NTPs, and mRNA capping analogs with scale-up expertise and unique mRNA, oligonucleotide & plasmid production capabilities.
Mr. Kaczmarek has also served as Vice President of manufacturing and supply chain operations at Pacira Biosciences, a leading provider of non-opioid pain management and regenerative health solutions, and also President of Nitto Avecia a CDMO specializing in end-to-end solutions for oligonucleotide programs. Mr. Kaczmarek holds a B.S. in Biology from Virginia Tech University.
Dr. Baradaran brings nearly two decades of extensive experience in manufacturing and regulatory review of gene therapy products, including regulatory Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) experience.
Dr. Baradaran was most recently Vice President of Regulatory CMC at Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc., a biopharmaceutical company involved in the research and development of novel products for the treatment of rare and ultra-rare genetic diseases. Previously, Dr. Baradaran was Vice President and Head of Quality at Dimension Therapeutics, a gene therapy company focused on developing novel treatments for rare diseases. Prior to this, she held CMC and Regulatory positions at Biogen, Novartis, and Dyax.
She holds a PhD in Virology from Harvard University and a BA in Molecular Biology from Wellesley College.
Dr. Najam Sharif brings over three decades of experience in pharmaceutical drug/device discovery and development to Nanoscope, including specialized expertise in ophthalmology and neuroscience. Throughout his career, he contributed to the discovery and development of several FDA-approved commercial drugs, including anti-glaucoma agent Travatan® and anti-allergic/inflammatory drugs such as Patanol® /Pataday® and Emedine®. In addition, Dr. Sharif was instrumental in guiding three drugs through to FDA approvals: Simbrinza® for glaucoma, IZBA® for the treatment of ocular hypertension and glaucoma, and PAZEO™ for the treatment ocular allergies. Most recently, Dr. Sharif served as Vice President, Global Biomedical Sciences & Head of Glaucoma and Neuroprotection at Santen, where he managed the company’s Clinical Sciences, Data Sciences, and Biometrics departments, and where he also established and directed Global Alliances & External Research activities. Prior to this, he held positions related to R&D and regulatory affairs at Alcon Research-Novartis, Synaptic Pharmaceutical Corp, and Syntex Pharma / Roche Pharmaceutical Corp. He is widely published with an extensive number of peer-reviewed publications, edited books and holds multiple patents for mitigation of neurological and ophthalmic diseases. He has been an invited organizer, chairman and speaker at multiple national and international conferences.
In addition to his professional experience, Dr. Sharif has served on numerous boards and committees. Dr. Sharif is an elected Fellow of multiple learned societies such as Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Association for Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics and British Pharmacological Society. Currently he serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Glaucoma Foundation and as an adjunct professor for the Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, and Institute of Ophthalmology at University College London. He is the recipient of several honors, including the Ernst H. Barany prize for “Outstanding Contributions to Ocular Pharmacology”, the first and inaugural “Dr. Roger Vogel Award” for Pharmaceutical Research, and the Sir James Black Award for “Contributions to Drug Discovery”.
Dr. Sharif received a PhD in neuroscience, DSc (by thesis) in ophthalmology, and dual bachelor’s degree in physiology and biochemistry from the University of Southampton (UK).
Jared Stephens leads global strategy and business development for Nanoscope Therapeutics. Prior to joining Nanoscope, Jared served as Director of Strategy, Search & Evaluation for GE Healthcare with responsibility for inorganic growth strategies across the Cell & Gene Therapy and Genomics business units. In that capacity, Jared led multiple deals to bring adjacent high growth technologies into the GE fold.
Jared has also served in corporate strategy and leadership roles at multiple startups including Absci and Bionano genomics, both of which went on to IPO and achieve $B plus market caps. A cell biologist by training, Jared holds a PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of California, Irvine.
Jean Chang joined Nanoscope Therapeutics in October 2022 as Vice President, Clinical Operations. She brings more than 20 years of experience in clinical operations and project management leading operational conduct of clinical trials through successful submissions in various therapeutic areas including CNS, cardiorenal, hematology, oncology, and ophthalmology. She was a former Executive Director of Clinical Operations at Catalyst Biosciences. She also served as Senior Director, Clinical Operations at Adverum Biotechnologies. Previously Jean held positions with increasing responsibility at Trigemina Inc., Sorbent Therapeutics, MAP Pharmaceuticals and Maxygen. She has vast experience in CRO Management, Global Clinical Trial Management and Clinical Data Management. Jean holds a Bachelor’s degree in Medical Technology from China Medical University in Taiwan and Master’s degree in Immunology from Wayne State University in Michigan.
Mr. Koester has over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He has worked in ophthalmology clinical development for most of his career and has been a key team member of numerous successful NDAs in wet AMD, glaucoma, ocular allergy, ocular inflammation, and ocular pain. He has also worked on numerous projects in dry AMD, dry eye and Stargardt disease. Mr. Koester served as the Global Head of Biostatistics and Clinical Data Management at CIBA Vision/Novartis Ophthalmics and held senior-level positions at Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Acucela Inc., and Othera Pharmaceuticals.
As Chairman of the Board, Mr. Sblendorio plays a pivotal role in ensuring the board’s effectiveness in implementing the Nanoscope mission to bring hope for renewed sight to millions of people affected by retinal degenerative diseases. He brings more than 30 years of exemplary experience to this role, marked by extensive executive leadership, financial acumen, and a proven track record of bringing innovative treatments to market. Mr. Sblendorio will help guide Nanoscope toward reaching its strategic vision.
Most recently, Mr. Sblendorio held various key leadership roles at IVERIC bio, Inc., an Astellas Company (formerly Ophthotech Corporation), including CEO, President, and Director. He also served as EVP, COO, CFO and Treasurer. Additionally, he served as President, CFO and Director at The Medicines Company and as EVP and CFO at Eyetech Pharmaceuticals. Earlier in his career, Mr. Sblendorio was a Managing Director at MPM Capital Advisors, LLC, and held various senior financial positions at Hoffman-La Roche.
Mr. Sblendorio holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Pace University, a Master of Business Administration degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University and is a graduate of the Harvard Advanced Management Program.
Sunil Gupta, MD, is a nationally recognized retinal surgeon, a successful entrepreneur, and a healthcare innovator in healthcare technologies, both biosciences and technology enabled services. His passion is to shoot the gap of unsolved problem areas in retinal care. He started his career as founder of Retina Specialty Institute (RSI) in Northwest Florida and Gulf Coast States, ensuring patients in these underserved markets received pioneering quality care with an emphasis on patient experience.
Dr. Gupta went on to found and serve as Chief Medical Officer of US Retina, one of the largest associations of retina physicians in the United States. The company was instrumental as the first GPO in the retina space as well as the first decision support ERP system for retina practices. Additionally, to address the leading cause of preventable blindness in working aged patients around the world, he founded and chairs Intelligent Retinal Imaging Systems (IRIS), an FDA-cleared, cloud-based telemedicine tool for the assessment of retinal eye disease, specifically diabetic retinopathy, in the primary care setting. The award-winning IRIS team is on a mission to end preventable blindness due to diabetic retinopathy and other conditions and are advancing the use of AI and physician reads in over 1.2 million patients here and around the world.
In addition to his clinical and entrepreneurial endeavors, Dr. Gupta has served as a principal investigator for numerous coveted retinal studies, contributing significantly to the advancement of retinal therapies approved over the last two decades. He serves on the advisory boards for most of the largest pharma companies in the retinal space.
Dr. Gupta is also a partner in the AI for Good initiative with Microsoft, leveraging artificial intelligence to improve healthcare outcomes and drive innovation in the field of retinal imaging and diagnostics.
Gina Guillem Jones, PA-C, MMS, PhD, is a highly accomplished entrepreneur and business leader, with a distinguished background in orthopedics and clinical research. As the co-founding member and President of CarGin Enterprises, she has successfully raised hundreds of millions of dollars in capital rounds for pharmaceutical and biotech ventures. She serves on the Board of Directors for many pharmaceutical and biotech companies.
Gina’s educational background is equally impressive, holding a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, a Bachelors in Physician Assistant Studies, a Masters in Medical Science, and a doctorate in Medical Science.
Dr. Shams was most recently the Chief Science Officer at ProQR Therapeutics. He has previously served as President and CEO of Santen Inc, and Global Head of R&D at Santen Pharmaceuticals, a global ophthalmology company, for over a decade. Dr. Shams has over 25 years of global drug development experience across start-ups and large multinationals, including Novartis and Genentech/Roche. At Genentech, Dr. Shams helped to establish the Ophthalmic Clinical R&D Group and led the development of Lucentis® through approval. Previously, Dr. Shams was on the Faculty at the Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School. He holds an MD from Dow Medical College and a PhD in microbiology/immunology from the University of South Carolina and completed a fellowship in wound healing and corneal transplantation at Harvard University.
