Opus Genetics Appoints Ben Yerxa, PhD, as Permanent Chief Executive Officer
Opus Genetics announced the appointment of Ben Yerxa, PhD, as Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Yerxa previously served as acting CEO of Opus, in addition to former roles as CEO of the Foundation Fighting Blindness and the Retinal Degeneration (RD) Fund, the venture arm of the Foundation.
Opus is the first spin-off company internally conceived and launched by the RD Fund, and combines insight and commitment to patient need with wholly owned AAV-based gene therapy programs in inherited retinal diseases, while creating novel manufacturing scale and efficiencies tailored for producing rare disease therapeutics, according to Opus.
“I’m exceptionally proud of the progress we’ve made toward our mission during my nearly five years at the Foundation, including the launch of the RD Fund to further the Foundation’s mission through venture philanthropy,” Dr. Yerxa said in a company news release. “Stepping into the permanent CEO role at Opus Genetics—a company that we created and launched through the RD Fund—enables me to be on the front line of bringing potentially life-changing treatments to the patients who so urgently need them.”
Dr. Yerxa continued, “More than 280 genes are known to cause inherited retinal diseases, and it’s estimated that over 180,000 patients are waiting for treatments for their individual genetic conditions. Opus is combining the best instruments of science with patient need to grow and advance our pipeline of AAV-based gene therapies for inherited retinal diseases, and I’m pleased to continue leading the Opus team in this important work.”
Dr. Yerxa has more than 25 years’ experience in biotechnology, nonprofit and drug development and in translating promising research discoveries into clinical milestones and commercial launches in the ophthalmology, pulmonary, rare disease, cardiovascular and HIV fields.
“Opus is entering a pivotal time in its evolution as our first program, OPGx-001 to address mutations in the LCA5 gene, is expected to enter the clinic this year, bringing a potential treatment another step closer to patients in need,” said Jean Bennett, MD, PhD, Opus scientific founder, board director and scientific advisory board member. “As a founder of the RD Fund and Opus, Ben is uniquely well-suited to realize Opus’ potential to tackle some of the most neglected forms of inherited blindness and make a real difference in the lives of patients.”
Dr. Yerxa holds 60 U.S. patents and is an inventor of DIQUAS, a treatment for dry eye approved in Japan.