Tarsus Pharmaceuticals Welcomes Aziz Mottiwala as Chief Commercial Officer and Relocates to Larger Irvine Headquarters

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif., Aug. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, today announced the appointment of Aziz Mottiwala as its Chief Commercial Officer. Mr. Mottiwala brings over 20 years of successful biopharmaceutical leadership experience to Tarsus, where he will be responsible for managing and growing the business' commercial infrastructure. Additionally, Tarsus is pleased to announce its corporate relocation to a new, state-of-the-art office and laboratory facility located in Irvine, CA.

Mr. Mottiwala possesses proven, wide-ranging experience in multiple therapeutic areas, including ophthalmic pharmaceuticals. Prior to joining Tarsus, Aziz was Chief Commercial Officer at Opiant Pharmaceuticals, overseeing all aspects of the firm's commercial strategy for its multi-product portfolio. Prior, he served as Senior Vice President and Head of Commercial at Avanir Pharmaceuticals. Additionally, his experience includes over 10 years at Allergan, where he served as Vice President of Marketing for the company's industry leading eye care franchise. While at Allergan, Mr. Mottiwala helped its eye care business grow to over $2 Billion in annual revenue across a diverse portfolio of pharmaceuticals, device and OTC products including RESTASIS^® and LUMIGAN^®.

"I'm excited and honored to join the growing Tarsus Pharmaceuticals team," said Aziz Mottiwala. "Tarsus has demonstrated its commitment to eye care through robust science, the cultivation of a growing, passionate team, and partnership with leaders in the eye care community. I look forward to driving commercial excellence for the pipeline of promising, and potentially transformational therapies in development at Tarsus."

Earlier in his career, Mr. Mottiwala held various commercial leadership roles at Valeant, IMS Health (now IQVIA), and Aventis Pharmaceuticals (now Sanofi). He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from the University of California San Diego, as well as an MBA in Marketing and Finance from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. He is also heavily active in his local community, serving on the board of the Orange County non-profit organization OneOC.

"Despite the disruption and uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic, this has been a transformational year for Tarsus Pharmaceuticals thus far," said Tarsus CEO Bobak Azamian, MD, PhD. "New additions to our strong executive team, a move to a new and expanded corporate headquarters, and recent compelling study results are helping us lay the groundwork for novel treatment options in eye care, starting with Demodex blepharitis. We look forward to building on this momentum with Aziz in our brand-new home, while adhering rigorously to all California Department of Health guidelines to best safeguard the health and well-being of our employees and community."

Recently, Tarsus also announced:

• The appointments of Sesha Neervannan to Chief Operating Officer and Leo Greenstein to Chief Financial Officer, bringing over 45 years of cumulative biopharmaceutical and ophthalmic experience to the Tarsus leadership team. (July 2020)
• Compelling results from its Phase 2a Mars and Phase 2b Jupiter trials for TP-03, its first-in-class, novel topical ophthalmic therapeutic for Demodex blepharitis. In both trials we observed that the use of TP-03 for 4 weeks was well-tolerated and showed compelling efficacy in the treatment of Demodex blepharitis, with treatment effects persisting for at least 90 days. (June 2020)

About Demodex Blepharitis

Blepharitis is a common, chronic ophthalmic condition characterized by inflammation of the eyelid margin, redness and ocular irritation, including a specific type of eyelash dandruff called collarettes in Demodex blepharitis. The healthy interaction of the lids and the surface of the eyeball is crucial to ocular health.  Poorly controlled and progressive blepharitis can lead to worsening of corneal damage over time and, in extreme cases, blindness. Blepharitis is a large, underserved and underdiagnosed market estimated at approximately 20 million patients in the United States, of which an estimated 9 million patients suffer from Demodex blepharitis, which is caused by the infestation of Demodex mites, and is one of the most common reasons people visit an eye doctor. Currently, there are no FDA-approved therapeutics for the treatment of Demodex blepharitis.

About TP-03

Our lead product candidate, TP-03 is a first-in-class, novel eye drop designed to paralyze and eradicate mites, thereby treating the underlying cause of disease. TP-03 has shown consistent results across four Phase 2 trials and has a well-tolerated safety profile. The drug is currently being developed in a multi-dose, preserved formulation and is expected to begin the first of two Phase 3 trials this year.

About Tarsus Pharmaceuticals

Tarsus is a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of first-in-class therapeutic candidates to address large market opportunities initially in ophthalmic conditions where there are limited treatment alternatives, starting with Demodex blepharitis. Tarsus was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.  For more information, please visit www.tarsusrx.com and follow us on Twitter @tarsusrx.

For inquiries contact:

Allison Howell
Pascale Communications
[email protected]

SOURCE Tarsus Pharmaceuticals