Optos plc Announces Appointment of Non-Executive Director
08.05.2006
LONDON, 08 May 2006 – Optos plc (LSE: OPTS) ('Optos' or the 'Company'), a leading medical technology company for the design, development, manufacturing and marketing of retinal imaging devices, today announced the appointment made on Friday 05 May 2006 of Dr. David R. Guyer to the Board as a non-executive director of the Company.
Dr. Guyer (46) is a Consultant to management and the Board of OSI Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:OSIP), where he provides specialist input in ophthalmology and retinal disease and is a Venture Partner of SV Life Sciences Advisers LLC (SVLS). Until recently, he was Executive Vice President of OSI Pharmaceuticals and Chief Executive Officer of (OSI) Eyetech, the biopharmaceutical business unit of OSI that specialized in the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics to treat diseases of the eye, which he co-founded prior to its acquisition by OSI.
“David brings a wealth of medical, scientific and geographical business expertise to Optos, which makes him an extremely valuable addition to our Board,” said Dr. John Padfield, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Optos plc. “As we extend our retinal image products into the medical arena, strengthen our existing North American and European presence and expand into new country markets, David’s appointment is well-timed and we are looking forward to the very definite value he will bring to the table.”
Optos announced in March 2006 that it had received clearance from the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) under Section 510(k) of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to market its P200MA medical device in the United States of America. European CE marking was received in December 2005. Aimed at the secondary and medical as opposed to the primary eye and health care market, the P200MA is designed produce an angiographic retinal image that Optos believes will offer retinal specialists and medical doctors advanced diagnostic, monitoring and treatment capabilities for particular eye disorders, including diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration.
“Optos is an extremely exciting medical device company considering back of the eye diseases represent a large, growing market and that earlier and better detection of diseases is taking on even more importance in the eye and health care arenas,” said Dr. Guyer. “I am delighted to be joining the Board and eager to support and be a part of the Company’s continued growth.”
The appointment of Dr. Guyer brings the total number of directors to nine.
There are no other details which are required to be disclosed under LR 9.6.13 R relative to the appointment of Dr. Guyer as a non-executive director of the Company.
NOTES TO THE EDITOR
About David R. Guyer, M.D.
Author of more than 100 publications, Dr. Guyer is an internationally recognized authority on macular diseases, particularly the use of anti-angiogenic drugs for the treatment of AMD and Diabetic Macular Edema (DME). After directing the residency program at Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital, Dr. Guyer served as Professor and Chairman of the Ophthalmology Department at the New York University School of Medicine. Dr. Guyer was the Study Co-chairman of the Pharmacological Therapy for Macular Degeneration Study Group, a 45-center worldwide group of retinal specialists studying drug therapy for AMD. This Study Group performed the first Phase III study of a drug for AMD. Dr. Guyer has served as a consultant on ophthalmic products to more than twelve different pharmaceutical companies, and has served as Chairman of the Research Committee of the Macula Society - one of the most renowned societies of retinal specialists in the world. Dr. Guyer was an ophthalmology resident at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins Hospital and did his fellowship training in retinal surgery at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, where he was a Heed-Knapp Fellow. He received his M.D. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and his undergraduate degree from Yale College.