ALPHARETTA, Ga., April 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Clearside Biomedical, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLSD), a biopharmaceutical company revolutionizing the delivery of therapies to the back of the eye through the suprachoroidal space (SCS^®), today announced the appointment of Arshad M. Khanani, M.D., M.A, F.A.S.R.S and Lejla Vajzovic, M.D., F.A.S.R.S to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB).

Clearside’s SAB is comprised of industry leading retinal physicians who provide medical and scientific expertise and input on the Company’s research and development programs. The SAB members are:

Thomas A. Ciulla, M.D., M.B.A., Chair
David S. Boyer, M.D.
David M. Brown, M.D.
Arshad M. Khanani, M.D., M.A., F.A.S.R.S.
Carl D. Regillo, M.D., F.A.C.S
Lejla Vajzovic, M.D., F.A.S.R.S.

“We are honored to have these esteemed clinicians provide valuable feedback as we advance our CLS-AX program in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) and explore broader uses for SCS delivery,” stated George Lasezkay, Pharm.D., J.D., President and Chief Executive Officer. “Drs. Khanani and Vajzovic will greatly complement our highly experienced SAB, led by Dr. Thomas Ciulla as Chair. We would also like to thank Dr. Nancy Holekamp and Dr. Peter Kaiser for their valuable service as they transition off the SAB due to other professional commitments. Our Scientific Advisory Board is integral in providing real-world insights to our team as we work to leverage our suprachoroidal delivery platform to potentially preserve and improve vision in patients with sight-threatening eye diseases.”

Biographies of New SAB Members:

Arshad M. Khanani, M.D., M.A., F.A.S.R.S.

Arshad M. Khanani, M.D., M.A., F.A.S.R.S. is a Managing Partner, Director of Clinical Research, and Director of Fellowship at Sierra Eye Associates and Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine.

Dr. Khanani founded the clinical research department at Sierra Eye Associates, which is now one of the leading clinical research centers in the country. He has served as a principal investigator for over 100 clinical trials and has been a top enroller in the country for multiple Phase 1-3 trials. In addition, Dr. Khanani has been the first to perform surgical procedures in multiple surgical clinical trials which deal with sustained delivery and gene therapy. He has written or contributed to over 90 scientific publications.

Dr. Khanani also serves as a member of national and international clinical trial steering committees as well as scientific advisory boards with the goal of bringing new treatment options for patients with retinal diseases. Dr. Khanani is frequently invited as a guest speaker at national and international meetings.

Dr. Khanani is an elected member of the Macula Society, Retina Society and has received numerous awards of distinction. In 2019, he received the Nevada Business Magazine Healthcare Heroes Physician of the Year award for his continued dedication to the field of ophthalmology. He has received the Senior Honor Award from the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) and was also awarded the prestigious ASRS Presidents’ Young Investigator Award in 2021.

Lejla Vajzovic, M.D., F.A.S.R.S.

Lejla Vajzovic, M.D., F.A.S.R.S. is the Director of Duke Vitreoretinal Fellowship Program and is a tenured Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Duke University. Dr. Vajzovic is a vitreoretinal surgeon with expertise in adult and pediatric retinal diseases and surgery. She is passionate about translational research and collaborates closely with Duke Biomedical engineers to develop imaging devices to improve ophthalmic care. She serves as a principal investigator for numerous national clinical trials in early to late stages of development. Her research interests span from pediatric retinal diseases such as retinopathy of prematurity to adult diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and venous occlusive diseases, as well as vitreoretinal surgical topics such as retinal tears, retinal detachments, macular holes and macular puckers.

In addition, Dr. Vajzovic is interested in cutting edge technologies and recovery of vision in hereditary and common retinal diseases with gene-therapy, stem cell technology and retinal implants. She is a co-director of the Duke Pediatric Retina and Optic Nerve Center, and she directs the Duke Center for Artificial and Regenerative Vision, where she performs gene-therapy delivery and implants the Argus II “bionic eye” to restore vision to individuals with total blindness. An influential educator, she organizes and directs several highly successful national and international courses, including the first-of-its-kind Advances in Pediatric Retina Course at Duke and the international Duke Fellows Advances in Vitreous Surgery Course. She is director of prestigious Duke Vitreoretinal Surgical Fellowship and director of Duke Eye Center’s Continuing Medical Education program.

Dr. Vajzovic completed her vitreoretinal fellowship training at Duke and residency training at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, FL. While in training, she received the Heed Fellowship Award, Society of Heed Fellows Award and Retina Society Research Award. She is active on the Women in Ophthalmology Board of Directors where she serves as a Treasurer and a Chair of Clinical Trial Training Program. In addition, she serves as a Retina Society AAO Council Representative. She is an elected member of the Retina Society, Macula Society and Club Jules Gonin Society. Dr. Vajzovic has been awarded the American Academy of Ophthalmology Achievement Award, American Society of Retina Specialists Senior Honor Award, Women in Ophthalmology Emerging Leader Award and Emerging Leader Award by Duke University School of Medicine and Duke Medical Alumni Association.

About Clearside Biomedical

Clearside Biomedical, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company revolutionizing the delivery of therapies to the back of the eye through the suprachoroidal space (SCS^®). Clearside’s SCS injection platform, utilizing the Company’s proprietary SCS Microinjector^®, enables an in-office, repeatable, non-surgical procedure for the targeted and compartmentalized delivery of a wide variety of therapies to the macula, retina or choroid to potentially preserve and improve vision in patients with sight-threatening eye diseases. Clearside is developing its own pipeline of small molecule product candidates for administration via its SCS Microinjector and strategically partners its SCS injection platform with companies utilizing other ophthalmic therapeutic innovations. Clearside’s first product, XIPERE^® (triamcinolone acetonide injectable suspension) for suprachoroidal use, is commercially available in the U.S. For more information, please visit www.clearsidebio.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Any statements contained in this press release that do not describe historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by words such as “believe”, “expect”, “may”, “plan”, “potential”, “will”, and similar expressions, and are based on Clearside’s current beliefs and expectations. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding the clinical development of Clearside’s product candidates. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in such statements. Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially include uncertainties inherent in the conduct of clinical trials, Clearside’s reliance on third parties over which it may not always have full control, uncertainties regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and other risks and uncertainties that are described in Clearside’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 14, 2023, and Clearside’s other Periodic Reports filed with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are based on information available to Clearside as of the date of this release, and Clearside assumes no obligation to, and does not intend to, update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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