Bausch & Lomb signs collaboration agreement, adds to senior leadership

Rochester, NY-Bausch & Lomb (B&L) has entered into a collaborative research agreement with Galapagos NV, a drug discovery company based in Mechelen, Belgium, giving B&L the exclusive option to license select Galapagos compounds as development candidates for therapeutic uses in ophthalmic diseases.

“The small-molecule compounds under evaluation have very attractive in vitro and in vivo profiles,” said Praveen Tyle, PhD, B&L chief scientific officer. “Our intent is to develop these compounds as unique therapies, tapping our research expertise in ophthalmic diseases.”

Onno van de Stolpe, chief executive officer (CEO) of Galapagos, said, “Our collaboration with B&L gives us the opportunity to leverage select compounds in a therapeutic area that we would not otherwise pursue.”

Under terms of the agreement, B&L is responsible for the preclinical and clinical development of the select compounds for use in ophthalmic diseases.

In other news, B&L announced that three people have joined its senior leadership team.

Stuart Heap is corporate vice president (VP) and global president, vision care. He is a former group VP of CIBA Vision Corp. and president of its global contact lens division, and he held various sales, marketing, manufacturing, and engineering positions with the company over two decades. After departing CIBA Vision in 2002, he served as CEO of health-care products manufacturers Regent Medical and SSL-Americas.

J. Andy Corley has been named corporate VP and global president, surgical products. He co-founded eyeonics, which B&L acquired earlier this year. At that company, Corley facilitated changes to the Medicare system that allow patients to pay privately for non-covered Medicare services. He has more than 25 years of experience in the ophthalmic industry and held various executive positions at Allergan Pharmaceuticals, American Medical Optics, and Chiron Ophthalmics, which he co-founded and where he played a key role in the introduction of LASIK surgery.

Michael Gowen has joined the company as corporate VP and executive vice president, global business operations and process excellence. He is the former VP of global operations and supply chain for the Johnson & Johnson group of consumer companies and was VP of global operations and supply chain for Johnson & Johnson Vision Care from 2002 to 2004. He also has served in multiple management roles with McNeil Consumer and Specialty Pharmaceuticals Co., including 6 years as VP of operations.