Christian Roesky, PhD.
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HEIDELBERG, Germany—Novaliq GmbH, a specialty pharmaceutical company specializing in eyecare, has appointed industry veteran Christian Roesky, PhD, as chief executive officer. The move is effective Nov. 1.

Roesky will lead Novaliq as it develops and brings to market innovative therapeutics for a broad range of ophthalmic indications, including dry eye, glaucoma and retina diseases. The German company has developed a disruptive drug delivery platform that transforms poorly soluble drugs into effective ocular therapeutics.

Bernhard Gunther, the previous chief executive, will take on a new role as chief innovation officer.

“We are very pleased to have Christian join Novaliq’s senior executive team as chief executive,” Novaliq chairman Friedrich von Bohlen, Ph.D, said in the announcement. “His experience and proven leadership will be highly beneficial as we move our many drug candidates through product development, clinical trials, approvals and commercialization.”

Roesky holds a Ph.D. in chemistry and brings more than 15 years of eyecare as well as extensive operational experience at multiple international pharmaceutical companies to his new role. He previously was general manager of Bausch + Lomb GmbH / Dr. Mann GmbH in Berlin; managing director of the Diagnostics Division, and general manager and speaker of the Country Management Board of Abbott GmbH & Co. KG in Wiesbaden; and, general manager of Alcon German & Austria (Novartis).

Bohlen also recognized and thanked Gunther for his “numerous contributions” as the company’s co-founder and chief executive. “He has led Novaliq to develop a unique ocular therapeutics delivery technology, to raise capital, and to hire a world-class team that has resulted in the development of the current line of innovative products and the successful market launch of NovaTears, the first innovative EyeSol product,” Bohlen said.

Roesky said he believes it’s an “exciting time to join Novaliq,” which, in the past year has made “tremendous progress to address unmet medical needs.”