OphRx

Revolutionizing eye care with innovative solutions

OphRx engages in the development of drugs for treating eye diseases using an innovative technological platform that enhances the transmission of active substances based on nanostructures.

For development and commercial reasons, OphRx has chosen to initially focus on a substance known as Cyclosporine with a high dosage of 0.5% compared with dosages currently available on the market of 0.05%-0.09% (for example Restasis by Allergan). These products are currently used to treat DES patients but encounter significant barriers to adaptation by patients due to a burning sensation on contact, and slow and limited symptom relief. According to market research studies and OphRx’s estimation, the market for these products exceeds $1.5 billion annually.

The company and OphRx believe that the OphRx technology could serve as a platform for different uses in the field of eye medication administration, including in connection with diseases of the front of the eye and/or diseases of the back of the eye, and therefore OphRx is focused on the development of medications for various diseases.

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Dr. Joseph Tauber

is an internationally recognized authority in the field of ocular
surface diseases. He has been a Principal Investigator in dozens of clinical research programs, including those that led to the approval of the only two medications approved by the FDA for the treatment of dry eye. Dr. Tauber received his doctorate
from Harvard Medical School, his training in internal medicine at Beth Israel Hospital and in ophthalmology at Tufts-New England Medical Center.

Alla Felder

Director

Accountant Alla Felder is a financial and business consultant. She serves as director of a number of companies traded on stock exchanges in Tel Aviv and the United States.

She serves as CFO of Weebit Nano Ltd., a technology company whose shares are traded on the stock exchange in Australia.

Ms. Felder is an accounting lecturer in the academic track of the College of Management in Rishon LeZion.

Between the years 1997 and 2010, she worked as a Senior Manager at Kesselman and Kesselman PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Ms. Felder holds an M.A. in Finance from City University of New York.

שמירה על פורטפוליו מגוון ומאוזן של טכנולוגיות ייחודיות לאבחון
וטיפול של מחלות העיניים והרחבתו.

הרחבת פורטפוליו הטכנולוגיות והמוצרים בתחום העיניים. כחלק מהיעדים והאסטרטגיה העסקית שהציבה לעצמה ביולייט, לצורך פיתוח והרחבת פעילות העיניים, ובמטרה להוסיף מנועי צמיחה עתידיים נוספים, שביולייט מאמינה ביכולתם לייצר ערך לחברה ולבעלי מניותיה בטווח הקצר עד הבינוני, הרחיבה ביולייט (ומתכוונת להמשיך להרחיב, ככל שיאפשרו משאביה) את פורטפוליו הטכנולוגיות והמוצרים בתחום העיניים בהם היא משקיעה, תוך מתן דגש לחברות בתחום העיניים המשלבות רפואה דיגיטלית עם עדיפות לחברות הקרובות יחסית לשלב ההכנסות.

יצירת רשת גלובלית ומגוונת של מומחי תעשייה להאצת סינרגיות ידע וחדשנות. 

מינוף הרשת העניפה של קשרים עם חוקרים ומנהלים מובילים בעולם בתחום העיניים בישראל ובעולם. ביולייט שואפת לקיים קשר שוטף עם רשת גלובלית של מומחי אופטלמולוגיה המטפלים במחלות עיניים מזוויות שונות. מיצוב ביולייט כמובילה בישראל בתחום זה וקשריה בעולם מאפשרים או צפויים לאפשר לביולייט לזהות צרכים רפואיים משמעותיים שאינם מקבלים מענה מיטבי, להעריך ולתעדף בצורה טובה טכנולוגיות ומוצרים פוטנציאלים בתחום העיניים, ולבצע חיבורים בין גופים שכאלה. כמו כן הצוות הניהולי המנוסה של ביולייט מאפשר מתן סיוע משמעותי בעיצוב תוכניות פיתוח ושווק של החברות בהן ביולייט מושקעת. ביולייט פועלת כל העת להיחשף לטכנולוגיות פורצות דרך בישראל ובעולם בתחומים שהיא שמה לעצמה כעדיפות תוך מינוף המובילות של החברה בתחום זה בישראל.

Yaacov Michlin

BioLight CEO

Yaacov Michlin serves as CEO of BioLight and presides as the Chairman or Director in most of Biolight’s portfolio companies. Prior to joining BioLight, Yaacov served as CEO and President of Brainsway. Yaacov led Brainsway to significant sales growth in the US and later to an IPO on the NASDAQ. Currently, Yaacov serves as the Co-Chairman (Life Sciences) of IATI – the umbrella organization of high-tech and biomed companies in Israel.

Prior to Brainsway, Yaacov served as president and CEO of Yissum – The technology transfer company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Yaacov has also founded and served as Chairman of Integra Holdings, an investment company that invests in life sciences ventures based on research at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Mr. Michlin holds a Bachelor of Law and Economics, cum laude, and a Master of Law degree, both from Bar-Ilan University, Israel, and an MBA, cum laude, from the Technion Israel Institute of technology, majoring in high-tech management.

Karin Gurevitz

Vice President, Group General Counsel and Company Secretary

Karin Gurevitz serves as VP and General Counsel of the Group. In this capacity, she also serves as Company Secretary and as Chief Compliance Officer.

Before joining BioLight in 2015, Ms. Gurevitz served as General Counsel and Company Secretary and led IPOs at a number of multinational public and private companies, including Tahel Group and Polar Investments Group (formerly Poalim Investments).

Ms. Gurevitz is a veteran legal advisor with extensive experience in legal and compliance management in global public and private companies in various fields.

Ms. Gurevitz holds an LL.B. and an MBA, both from Tel Aviv University, and is a member of the Israel Bar.

Yifftach Biel

Chief Financial Officer

Yifftach Biel is BioLight’s CFO. Prior to this appointment, he served as the Group’s Corporate Controller for about five years.

Before joining BioLight, Mr. Biel worked as a Corporate Controller with Delek Global Real Estate, an international real estate investment company (AIM:DGRE) with a portfolio of properties valued at billions of Israeli shekels in Europe, Canada and Israel.

Prior to this position, Mr. Biel worked at PwC Israel for four years, during which he managed client portfolios of companies in the fields of life sciences, high-tech, start-ups and more.

Mr. Biel has extensive experience in financial management, international taxation, financing for companies at various phases of their development, and mergers and acquisitions.

Mr. Biel holds a BA in Management from the Open University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Israel Makov

Chairman of the Board

Mr. Makov is among Israel’s most respected corporate leaders.

He is the former President & CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (2002-2007). Under his leadership Teva became the undisputed global leader in the generic pharmaceutical industry and a global leader in the treatment of Multiple sclerosis. During his tenure the company’s sales increased over four-fold, to approximately $8.5 billion, and its adjusted net income increased approximately six-fold to over $1.8 billion

Prior to joining Teva, Mr. Makov led a number of companies in various industries. Among them was Israel’s first biotech company, Interpharm, which he founded, and later went public in the US.

Makov is also the former Chairman of Sun Pharma, the world’s 4th largest specialty generic pharma company and the largest pharma company in India, former Chairman of Given Imaging, the developer and world’s leading provider of capsule endoscopy, and Netafim, the pioneer and global leader in smart irrigation solutions.

Today, Mr Israel Makov is Chairman of Nextage Therapeutics, a global pharma company that develop the next generation of cannabinoid based products, and Chairman of QuantalX NeuroScience, a clinical stage company developing Direct Electro-Physiological Imaging (DELPhI), enabling early, precise and objective evaluation of the brain’s functional status.

Mr Makov is a member of the Executive Board & Management Committee of the Weizmann Institute of Science, on the Board of Governors of the Technion, and Director at Yeda Research and Development Company Ltd.  Mr. Makov is also Chairman of the Gesher Theatre, one of Israel’s leading theaters.

Mr. Makov has a B.Sc. in Agriculture and an M.Sc. in Economics from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Suzana Nahum-Zilberberg

Deputy Chairman of the Board

Suzana Nahum-Zilberberg, Deputy Chair of the BioLight Board of Directors, served as BioLight’s CEO from 2011 to 2020. Before joining BioLight, she worked at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries for 12 years in a range of positions. In her last role, she served as VP Asia Pacific and led Teva’s penetration into the Japanese and Chinese markets. Ms. Nahum-Zilberberg established the Asian Region at Teva and served as manager of the region between 2007 and 2011, leading Teva to become the fifth largest generic drug company in Japan.

Ms. Nahum-Zilberberg holds a B.A. in Accounting and Economics and an MBA, majoring in finance and marketing, both from Tel Aviv University. She is a Certified Public Accountant.

Rina Shafir

Director

Ms. Shafir currently serves as a Director and Chairperson of the Investment Committee at Analyst Provident Funds, as a Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Shlomo Real Estate, as a Director and Chairman of the Finance Committee at Almeda Ventures, and as a Director of Sunflower Sustainable Industries. She previously served as a Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee at Kesem ETFs, as a Director of Gematronic Industries, Clal Finance and the Advisory Committee of Shaarey Ribit.

She served as Senior VP of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange until 2012 and previously served as CEO of Impact – Investments Portfolio Management. Additionally, for more than 10 years, Ms. Shafir served as head of the Securities and Advisory Division at Union Bank.

Ms. Shafir brings strong business and financial skills and more than 30 years’ experience in the capital market.

Ms. Shafir holds a B.A. in Economics and an MBA, majoring in finance and accounting, both from Tel Aviv University.

Ron Mayron

Director

Mr. Mayron has extensive experience in the pharmaceutical and medical devices industries after having served in the last 21 years in a number of senior management positions, both in the local market and in global markets at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

Over the course of his career at Teva, Mr. Mayron served in various VP roles, while in his final role with the company he served as CEO of Teva Israel and VP Israel and Africa. Mr. Mayron specializes in marketing, sales and distribution, mergers and acquisitions, business development, supply chain operations and strategic development.

Mr. Mayron serves as a director with a number of private and public companies and holds a B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering and Management from Ben-Gurion University and an MBA from Tel Aviv University.

Dr. Ron Neumann

BioLight’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO), is a leading expert
ophthalmologist, specializing in inflammatory eye disease. He has served as a Chief Fellow at the Harvard University’s Eye and Ear Infirmary, established a Clinic for
Inflammatory Eye Diseases at Sheba Medical Hospital and has held various senior positions including serving as the Global Medical Director for Teva Pharmaceuticals of Innovative Products.  Dr Neumann serves as a special consultant in inflammatory eye disease to Maccabi; Israel’s leading HMO.

Kobi Faigenbaum

Director

Kobi Faigenbaum has more than 35 years of broad financial experience with financial entities in Israel and abroad. Among his activities, he founded Pioneer, an international investment and consulting company operating in Israel and several other countries and, following its acquisition by South African investment company Old Mutual, served in a senior position with this company in London.

On his return to Israel, Mr. Faigenbaum set up the first wealth management company (“family office”) in Israel and was a pioneer in this field. He also served for more than six years as CEO of UBS WM ISRAEL and as head of the bank’s investment banking in Israel.

Nowadays Mr. Faigenbaum is active on several levels and, among other things, represents in Israel one of China’s largest, market-leading investment funds.

Mr. Faigenbaum holds a B.A. in Economics and Business Administration and an LL.M, both from Bar Ilan University.

Maintaining and growing a diverse and balanced portfolio of unique technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases

Expanding the portfolio of ophthalmic technologies and products As part of the goals and the business strategy BioLight has set itself, in order to develop and expand the ophthalmic business, and with the aim of adding future growth engines that BioLight believes have the ability to create value for the company and its shareholders in the short- to medium-term, BioLight has expanded (and intends to continue expanding, insofar as its resources allow) its portfolio of ophthalmic technologies and products in which it invests, while placing emphasis on companies in the ocular field that integrate digital medicine, with a preference for companies that are relatively close to the revenue stage.

Creating a global and varied network of industry experts to accelerate synergies, knowledge and innovation.

Leveraging the wide-ranging network of connections with world-leading researchers and managers in the ophthalmic field in Israel and around the world, BioLight aims to conduct ongoing relations with a global network of ophthalmic specialists who use different approaches to treat eye disease.

Positioning BioLight as a leader in Israel in this field and its connections around the world enable, or are expected to enable, BioLight to identify significant medical needs that are not optimally addressed, to effectively assess and prioritize potential technologies and products in the ophthalmic field, and to make connections between such entities. Furthermore, BioLight’s experienced management team enables BioLight to offer its investee companies considerable support for the design of development and marketing plans. BioLight works constantly to gain exposure to groundbreaking technologies in Israel and worldwide in the fields that it has marked as top priority while leveraging the leadership of the company in this field in Israel.

Activity in Ophthalmology

BioLight’s ophthalmology activity includes research and development, investments and/or sales of the following ocular products:

DiagnosTear’s TeaRx™️ technology is a diagnostic platform intended for diagnosis of disease in the frontal areas of the eye through examination of a number of substances in the composition of teardrops. The first indication is for identification, personal matching and monitoring of dry eye syndrome (DES).

ViSci’s Eye-D technology – development of a subconjunctival implant for the delayed and controlled release of an active substance for treating glaucoma, based on technology for which ViSci has received an exclusive worldwide license.

LipiCare Pharmaceuticals – development and commercialization activities for LipiCare, a range of eyedrop formulations for applying fatty molecule-based treatments to the ocular surface for a number of diseases and syndromes. LipiCare is engaged in its first product based on this technology, the Ocular D.

LIPITEAR™️ – marketing of an approved medical product for the treatment of dry eye syndrome (DES) and for other eye disease uses.

OphRx – development of drugs for the treatment of eye diseases using an innovative technological platform to enhance the flow of eyedrops and substances injected into the eyes based on nanostructures.

IOPtiMate™️ system from IOPtima is a medical device based on CO2 laser technology allowing surgery to be performed for the treatment of glaucoma without penetrating the interior of the eyeball in a process known as CLASS.

Additional ophthalmic technologies (through investee companies) from the portfolio of eye disease technologies and products in which BioLight has invested, include: Sanoculis, BELKIN Laser, Tarsia Pharma and AEYE Health, Inc.

ד”ר רון נוימן

סמנכ”ל רפואי

ד”ר רון נוימן מכהן כסמנכ”ל רפואי ביולייט החל מדצמבר 2019. ד”ר נוימן הינו רופא עיניים מומחה למחלות דלקתיות של העין ויועץ לקופת חולים מכבי שירותי בריאות בנושא.

קודם לכן, ד”ר נוימן הקים את המרפאה למחלות עיניים דלקתיות בבי”ח שיבא ועבד שם כ- 10 שנים.

ד”ר נוימן שימש בתפקידים ניהוליים שונים, בין השאר ניהל את שירותי העיניים של קופ”ח כללית במחוז המרכז, ושימש כמנהל רפואי גלובלי של מוצרי הפתוח בחברת טבע קרוב ל- 10 שנים.

ד”ר נוימן היה בין יוזמי, ועומד בראש הכנס לפרמקולוגיה של העין International Symposium of Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics (ISOPT).

ד”ר נוימן סיים בהצטיינות את למודי ביה”ס לרפואה ע”ש סאקלר באוניברסיטת תל אביב, התמחות ברפואת עיניים בבית חולים קפלן ברחובות.

השתלמות במחלות עיניים דלקתיות ב- Massachusetts Eye and Ear (MEEI), אוניברסיטת הרווארד, ארה”ב.

 

Dr. Ron Neumann, M.D

Chief Medical Officer (CMO)

Dr. Ron Neumann, expert ophthalmologist, specializing in inflammatory eye diseases and senior consultant to Maccabi, Israel’s leading Healthcare System joined the BioLight team in December of 2019 serving as the Company’s Chief Medical Officer.

Prior to joining BioLight, Dr. Neumann established a Clinic for Inflammatory Eye Diseases at Sheba Medical Hospital holding this position for nearly a decade.

In addition, Dr. Neumann held various senior positions including serving as the Global Medical Director for Teva Pharmaceuticals for the innovative products , and Director of Ophthalmic Services for Clalit National Healthcare System at Israel’s Central Region

Dr. Neumann is among the initiators and founders of The International Symposium of Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics ( ISOPT) in which he continues to serve as the Co-Chairman of the Organization.

After graduating with honors from Tel Aviv University’s Sackler School of Medicine, Dr. Neumann did his ophthalmologic training at  Kaplan Hospital, Rehovot Israel, affiliated with the Hebrew University. Dr. Neumann went on for a Fellowship specializing in inflammatory eye conditions at the Harvard University’s Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI) were he also served as a chief fellow and was a founder of the FOIS (Foster Ocular Inflammation Society).

Dr. Vincente Anido Jr.

is a world-renowned ophthalmology industry leader. In his recent role he served as the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Aerie pharmaceuticals, an ophthalmic pharmaceutical company [NASDAQ: AERI]. Prior to Aerie, he led several companies including in his role as the CEO of ISTA Pharmaceuticals, that was acquired by Bausch + Lomb. He holds a B.S. and a M.S. from West Virginia University and a Ph.D. from the University of Missouri, Kansas City. Dr. Anido Jr. is also nominated
as Special Strategic Advisor of ViSci Ltd., a subsidiary of BioLight.

 

Dr. Jeffrey Goldberg

is a Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology at the Byers Eye
Institute at Stanford University. His research is directed at neuroprotection and
regeneration of retinal ganglion cells and the optic nerve. Dr. Goldberg is also the co- founder of Peripherex, one of BioLight’s portfolio companies engaged in solutions for remote diagnosis of peripheral vision impairment. Dr. Goldberg received his B.S. magna cum laude from Yale University, and his M.D. and Ph.D. from Stanford University where he made significant discoveries about the failure of optic nerve regeneration.

 

Professor Anat Loewenstein

is the Chairwoman of the Department of Ophthalmology at
Ichilov Sourasky Medical Center Tel Aviv, the leading center for diagnosing and treating a complete spectrum of ophthalmological diseases and Chairwoman of the Israeli Ophthalmological Society.
She also serves as Vice Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, and Sidney Fox Chair of Ophthalmology at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine at the Tel Aviv University. Anat is involved in numerous leading ophthalmic companies (such as Notal Vision) in various roles.

הפעילות בתחום העיניים
פעילות ביולייט בתחום העיניים כוללת מחקר ופיתוח, השקעות ו/או ומכירות במוצרי העיניים הבאים:
  • טכנולוגיית ה– TeaRx™ של דיאגנוסטיר – פלטפורמה דיאגנוסטית המיועדת לאבחנה של מחלות בקדמת העין על-ידי בחינה של מספר חומרים בהרכב נוזל הדמעות. האינדיקציה הראשונה היא זיהוי, התאמה אישית ומעקב אחר טיפול בסינדרום העין היבשה  (DES).
  •  טכנולוגיית ה– Eye-D של וייסיי – פיתוח שתל תת לחמיתי (Eye-D)  לשחרור מושהה ומבוקר של חומר פעיל לטיפול בגלאוקומה, המבוסס על הטכנולוגיה לה וייסיי קיבלה רישיון בלעדי כלל עולמי.
  • טכנולוגיית LipiCare  של ליפיקייר – פעילות פיתוח ומסחור מגוון פורמולציות טיפתיות להנגשת מולקולות שומניות לפני העין למגוון מחלות וסינדרומים. ליפיקייר עוסקת במוצר יחיד על בסיס טכנולוגיה זו ה- Ocular D.
  • מוצר LIPITEAR™ – פעילות שווק מוצר רפואי מאושר לטיפול בסינדרום העין היבשה (DES) ולשימושים נוספים בתחום מחלות העיניים.
  • טכנולוגיית OphRx של אופ אר אקס – פעילות פיתוח תרופות לטיפול במחלות עיניים באמצעות פלטפורמה טכנולוגית חדשנית המשפרת הולכת טיפות וחומרים מוזרקים לעיניים המבוססת על ננו-מבנים.
  • מערכת ה- IOPtiMate™ של איי אופטימה – מכשיר רפואי המבוסס על טכנולוגיית לייזר CO2 המאפשר לבצע ניתוח לטיפול בגלאוקומה ללא חדירה אל החלק הפנימי של גלגל העין בהליך המכונה CLASS.

טכנולוגיות נוספות בתחום העיניים (באמצעות השקעות בחברות שאינן מאוחדות או כלולות) – פורטפוליו הטכנולוגיות והמוצרים בתחום מחלות העיניים שביולייט השקיעה בהן כולל את: סנאוקוליס, בלקין לייזר, טרסייה פארמה ו- AEYE Health, Inc.