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SEATTLE—Visus Therapeutics Inc., a clinical-stage company working to develop the first presbyopia-correcting eye drop with the potential to last a minimum of eight hours, announced the appointments of prominent ophthalmologists Marguerite McDonald, MD, Neda Shamie, MD, William Trattler, MD, and Lawrence Woodard, MD, to its clinical advisory board. Drs. McDonald, Shamie, Trattler and Woodard will lend their decades of experience in clinical practice and pharmaceutical trials to provide strategic guidance related to Visus’ clinical development program for Brimochol, an investigational eye drop designed to restore the loss of near vision associated with presbyopia.

The clinical advisory board is led by industry veteran Eric Donnenfeld, MD, founding partner of Ophthalmic Consultants of Long Island and Connecticut and clinical professor of ophthalmology at New York University Medical Center.

“We are honored to welcome this renowned group of ophthalmologists to our clinical advisory board at this pivotal time for Visus, specifically as we advance into Phase 2 clinical studies with our lead candidate, Brimochol,” Ben Bergo, co-founder, president and chief executive officer of Visus Therapeutics, said in the announcement this week.

“Each board member’s individual expertise as well as their collective knowledge of the industry will be invaluable in our endeavor to develop the world’s first presbyopia-correcting eye drop that has the potential to last a minimum of eight hours. We look forward to collaborating with this talented team of experts as we continue to move our clinical development program forward.”

Dr. McDonald is a fellowship-trained cornea specialist who practices at Ophthalmic Consultants of Long Island. She is also a clinical professor of ophthalmology at New York University in Manhattan and a clinical professor of ophthalmology at Tulane University Medical School in New Orleans. Her pioneering work in refractive surgery included development and performance of the world’s first excimer laser refractive procedure in patients in 1988.

Dr. Shamie is a renowned cataract, LASIK and corneal surgeon and partner of the Maloney-Shamie Vision Institute in Los Angeles. She previously served as the medical director of the Doheny Eye Institute in Beverly Hills and is currently a clinical professor of ophthalmology at the USC Keck School of Medicine.

Dr. Trattler is a fellowship-trained cornea specialist who practices at the Center for Excellence in Eye Care in Miami. He is also the current U.S. president of the American-European Congress of Ophthalmic Surgery (AECOS). Dr. Trattler has participated in more than 70 clinical trials and has been an author in more than 50 peer-reviewed publications.

Dr. Woodard is a board-certified ophthalmologist who serves as medical director of Omni Eye Services of Atlanta. He specializes in cataract surgery, including multifocal and toric intraocular lenses, as well as corneal surgery. As one of the nation’s leading cataract surgeons, Dr. Woodard lectures extensively at national and international meetings, educating doctors on cataract surgery techniques and new technologies.