Stuart Therapeutics Announces Chief Medical and Chief Financial Officer Appointments

STUART, Fla., Feb. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Stuart Therapeutics, Inc. ("Stuart"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with candidate therapeutics in various phases of clinical development, today announced that it has appointed Jodi Luchs, MD to the position of Chief Medical Officer, and Don Stires to the position of Chief Financial Officer. 

With the appointment of Dr. Luchs, Robert Baratta, MD has stepped aside from his current role as Chief Medical Officer but will continue as Stuart's Executive Chairman of the Board.

"Stuart Therapeutics' growth, international operations and increase in pipeline opportunities require an expansion of our team and capabilities," said Eric Schlumpf, President and Chief Executive Officer of Stuart. "Jodi and Don bring significant clinical and industry experience and expertise to our organization, and we are pleased that they will be a part of our future as an organization. Dr. Baratta remains an active part of the company and our culture, and we count on his continued contribution to the development of innovative therapeutics in ophthalmology."

Jodi Luchs, MD 

Dr. Luchs graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and received his M.D. from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. He completed an internship at the Mount Sinai Medical Center, and his Ophthalmology residency at Long Island Jewish Medical Center. He then completed a fellowship in Cornea/External Disease at the prestigious Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia. In 2018, Dr. Luchs Joined Florida Vision Institute in West Palm Beach, Florida.

He has numerous publications on Cornea, External Diseases, and Refractive Surgery to his credit, including 2 books, and lectures nationally, and internationally. He has been the Principal Investigator for over 100 FDA clinical trials, including those which led to the approval of many ophthalmic medications and devices used today. 

Dr. Luchs is Board Certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American College of Surgeons, and the American Society of Cataract and refractive Surgery (ASCRS). He is also a member of the Castroviejo Corneal Society, the International Society of Refractive Surgery, the Refractive Surgery Alliance, and a founding member of both the American-European Congress of Ophthalmic Surgery (AECOS) and the Society of Cornea, External Disease and Refractive Surgeons (CEDARS).

In 2017, Dr. Luchs became the Chief Science Advisor for InFocus Capital Partners, a private venture capital firm dedicated to investing in companies developing promising new Ophthalmic medications and devices.

Donald H. Stires, Jr. 

Donald (Don) Stires graduated from Lehigh University with a Civil Engineering degree and has an MBA from Columbia University. He has over 40 years of management experience with global medical device, pharmaceutical, and consumer products companies as well as small company start-ups. He has extensive finance and accounting management experience from his background with the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies, including Ethicon, Johnson & Johnson Interventional Systems, and Cordis, Inc.

Don's broad background includes key roles in finance and accounting, including controller and CFO, along with general management roles including CEO of an early-stage medical diagnostic technology company. 

About Stuart Therapeutics
Stuart Therapeutics, founded in 2017 and based in Stuart, Florida, is the leader in the development of ECM-targeting therapeutics for disease treatment. Its platform technology, PolyCol™, is a portfolio of synthesized collagen mimetic peptides designed to specifically bind to and repair disease- or injury-damaged helical collagen structures. This activity results in both a repair of collagen structures and a restoration of homeostatic cell signaling, with positive effects on cell growth and proliferation and reduction in inflammation. These effects occur rapidly in treated tissues, as demonstrated by the results of extensive research conducted by Stuart Therapeutics in a variety of anterior and posterior segment ophthalmic disease indications, including glaucoma, retinal diseases, dry eye disease and myopia. For more information, visit www.stuarttherapeutics.com.

Contact:
Eric Schlumpf
President & CEO
206-228-2781
[email protected]

SOURCE Stuart Therapeutics