Dedham, Massachusetts — Qlaris Bio, Inc. has appointed Parisa Zamiri, M.D., Ph.D., to its board of directors as the biotechnology company advances its lead glaucoma drug candidate through late-stage clinical development.
Zamiri is a physician-scientist and ophthalmologist with experience in retinal disease, immunology, inflammation and biopharmaceutical drug development. She most recently served as Chief Medical Officer of Opthea Limited and previously held the same role at Complement Therapeutics and Graybug Vision.
At those companies, she oversaw clinical development, regulatory affairs, medical affairs and biostatistics. She previously served as Vice President, Global Head of Clinical Development and Therapeutic Area Head for Ophthalmology at Novartis Pharmaceuticals, where she led teams conducting Phase 1 through Phase 4 clinical trials across several ophthalmic indications.
“Dr. Zamiri brings a deep ophthalmic drug development expertise to the company,” Qlaris Bio Board Chairman Ron Hunt said. “As we advance QLS-111 through late-stage development, her extensive experience translating novel mechanisms into approvable therapies will be a tremendous asset to our board.”
Qlaris Bio is developing QLS-111 as a treatment for glaucoma. The preservative-free eye drop is designed to lower intraocular pressure by reducing episcleral venous pressure, which the company said is not addressed by currently approved glaucoma treatments.
“Qlaris is pursuing a truly differentiated approach to glaucoma by targeting episcleral venous pressure, a component of intraocular pressure that has gone unaddressed by currently approved treatments,” Zamiri said. “I’m looking forward to supporting the team as they advance QLS-111 through the next stage of clinical development and toward patients who need new treatment options.”
QLS-111 is a vasodilatory topical ATP-sensitive potassium channel modulator originally discovered at Mayo Clinic. In the Phase 2 Osprey and Apteryx clinical trials, the drug demonstrated sustained reductions in intraocular pressure and a favorable safety profile, according to the company.
Zamiri received her medical degree from King’s College Hospital at the University of London and completed her ophthalmology residency through the North Thames Rotation, affiliated with Moorfields Eye Hospital in London.
She earned her Ph.D. in ocular immunology at the Schepens Eye Research Institute of Massachusetts Eye and Ear, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, where she studied immune privilege in the subretinal space.
