10 September 2020
The directors of Opthea Limited (ASX:OPT), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing a novel therapy to treat highly prevalent and progressive retinal diseases, are pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Daniel Spiegelman as an independent Non-Executive Director, who will also serve as Chair of the Company’s Audit and Risk Committee, effective from September 10, 2020.
Mr Spiegelman is a respected and credentialed figure in the biotechnology industry who has provided strategic financial management and insight to a number of life science companies during his career. Most recently, Mr Spiegelman served as the Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of BioMarin Pharmaceutical from May 2012 to January 2020. He is currently interim CEO of Recardia Therapeutics and Director and Audit Committee Chair of Myriad Genetics, and the privately held companies Tizona Therapeutics and Spruce Biosciences.
Mr Spiegelman’s prior experience includes several roles at Genentech Inc., including Treasurer, and Chief Financial Officer of CV Therapeutics. Mr Spiegelman previously served as a director of a number of companies, including Cascadian Therapeutics (formerly Oncothyreon) until its merger with Seattle Genetics, Relypsa until its merger with Galenica AG, Anthera Pharmaceuticals, Affymax, Omeros Corporation and Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals.
Opthea’s Chairman, Mr Geoffrey Kempler said “We are delighted to welcome Mr Spiegelman to the Opthea Board. Mr Spiegelman brings a wealth of industry knowledge and has relevant US corporate governance, compliance and financial management experience, having held numerous executive and Board roles, including as Audit and Risk Committee Chair, with several US public and private companies. Mr Spiegelman is an excellent addition to the Board as we prepare to expand our operations in the US and internationally and advance OPT-302 through Phase 3 clinical development.”
Mr Spiegelman commented “I am excited to be joining the Board of Opthea and pleased to be part of the Company’s plans for continued success. I see the potential of Opthea’s OPT-302 program to improve the treatment of patients with highly progressive retinal diseases and to tap into the multi- billion dollar commercial market to address the unmet medical need for patients with these debilitating conditions.”
Mr Spiegelman holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
