EMERYVILLE, Calif.—NovaBay Pharmaceuticals (NYSE American: NBY) on Monday announced that it has appointed Justin Hall as president and chief executive officer, and Jason Raleigh as chief financial officer. Hall has served as interim president and chief executive officer, and Raleigh as interim chief financial officer since March 2019. NovaBay is a biopharmaceutical company focused on commercializing Avenova for the domestic eyecare market. “Justin and Jason have proven their leadership abilities by successfully implementing the shift in our U.S. commercial strategy we announced in March and executing the recent launch of our U.S. direct-to-consumer sales of Avenova on Amazon.com,” chairman Paul E. Freiman said in the announcement.

“This is a very exciting time at NovaBay as we launch Avenova Direct, making our leading lid and lash spray directly accessible to consumers without a prescription and at affordable pricing,” Hall said. “My close working relationships with our board, principal investors and sales force are key to quickly adjusting our strategy to rapidly address opportunities in the marketplace.”

Earlier this month, NovaBay announced that it had begun to sell Avenova directly to consumers via a new Avenova Direct program on Amazon.com, as VMAIL reported. Avenova is formulated with a proprietary form of hypochlorous acid, and is designed to remove bacteria and debris on and around the eyelid margin that contribute to bacterial eye infections, which represent approximately 85 percent of the dry eye market, according to NovaBay.

Previously, Avenova was primarily marketed to optometrists and ophthalmologists throughout the U.S. by the company’s direct salesforce.