Your Vision
Our Mission
Innovative retinal treatments designed to improve patients’ lives.
About Us
Kalaris was founded by experienced leaders in ophthalmology drug development and commercialization to address a major unmet need in the treatment of retinal diseases.
Existing therapies for retinal neovascular / exudative diseases have made great strides in preserving or improving vision, but they require frequent clinic visits over many years that place a significant burden on patients and caregivers. This onerous visit regimen often leads to missed or delayed injections and suboptimal patient outcomes.
As a result, Kalaris is developing a novel therapy with the potential to ease patient burden and improve outcomes.
Kalaris is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development and commercialization of treatments for prevalent retinal diseases.
The Kalaris management team and Board of Directors has experience developing and commercializing retina therapeutics and successfully building biopharma companies. Kalaris is supported by veteran investors with a track record in funding successful retina therapeutic development to FDA approval.
Our Science
Discovery of Kalaris’ lead product, TH103, was led by scientific co-founder Dr. Napoleone Ferrara, a Lasker Award-winning scientist known for isolating the genetic sequence for three human VEGF-A isoforms and one of the inventors of Avastin and Lucentis, two of the leading anti-VEGF drugs in cancer and neovascular eye diseases. TH103 is a fully humanized, recombinant fusion protein designed for intravitreal delivery, with potential to be a best-in-class anti-VEGF agent. TH103 acts against VEGF as a soluble decoy receptor and has been engineered for longer-lasting and increased anti-VEGF activity.
TH103 has a high affinity for both VEGF and heparan sulfate proteoglycans (“HSPG”), macromolecules that are present throughout the eye, including the vitreous and all retinal layers1. We believe HSPG macromolecules act as molecular anchors for TH103, potentially extending its intraocular retention and reducing the frequency of anti-VEGF injections.
TH103 has demonstrated longer-lasting and increased anti-VEGF activity in head-to-head preclinical studies against the market leading agent.2
TH103 is currently being evaluated in an ongoing, Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), with plans to develop this therapy for other neovascular and exudative diseases of the retina.
Kalaris is evaluating its lead asset, TH103, in a Phase 1 clinical trial in nAMD.
Leadership Team
Management Team
Andrew Oxtoby
CEO & Director, Kalaris
Eli Lilly, Aimmune, Chinook
Matthew Feinsod, MD
CMO, Kalaris
FDA, Eyetech, Imagen, AGTC
Jill Porter
VP CMC
Roche, Agennix, OxThera
Nancy Davis
VP Clinical Operations
IOTA Biosciences, Viridian, Aerie, Novartis, Eyetech
Board of Directors
David Hallal
Board Chairman, Kalaris
CEO & Chairman, ElevateBio; Chairman Scholar Rock and iTeos Therapeutics SA; Alexion, OSI Eyetech, Biogen, Amgen
Samir Patel, MD
Director & Co-Founder, Kalaris
Co-founder & Ex-CEO, President, and Director of Ophthotech (Iveric); Co-founder, Eyetech
Napoleone Ferrara, MD
Director & Co-Founder, Kalaris
Genentech Fellow Professor, UCSD
Anthony Adamis, MD
Director, Kalaris
Ex-Global Head of Ophthalmology, Immunology and Infectious Disease, Genentech / Roche; Co-founder and CSO of Eyetech
Srinivas Akkaraju, MD, PhD
Director & Co-founder, Kalaris
Managing Partner, Samsara
Mike Dybbs, PhD
Director & Co-founder, Kalaris
Partner, Samsara
Morana Jovan-Embiricos, PhD
Director, Kalaris
Managing Partner, F2 Ventures; MPM Capital
Contact
Please fill out the brief form below with any questions or inquiries, and a member of our team will connect with you soon.
References
- Clark SJ, Keenan TD, Fielder HL, et al. 2011. ‘Mapping the differential distribution of glycosaminoglycans in the adult human retina, choroid, and sclera’, Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci, 52: 6511-21
- Xin, H., Biswas, N., Li, P., Zhong, C., Chan, T. C., Nudleman, E., & Ferrara, N. (2021). Heparin-binding VEGFR1 variants as long-acting VEGF inhibitors for treatment of intraocular neovascular disorders. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(21), e1921252118.