HERZLIYA, Israel—Orasis Pharmaceuticals, an emerging ophthalmic pharmaceutical company focused on developing an innovative pharmaceutical solution for the treatment of presbyopia symptoms, has named Julie Speed as senior vice president, head of strategy and marketing. Speed brings more than two decades of leadership in eyecare and will be responsible for developing the brand strategy and building the marketing organization as the company prepares for a Phase 3 readout and FDA submission for lead candidate, CSF-1, according to an announcement on Monday.

CSF-1 is a corrective eye drop for the treatment of presbyopia as an alternative to reading glasses. By repurposing existing and well-studied molecules, CSF-1 is designed to be effective, safe, comfortable and easy-to-use, according to Orasis’s announcement.

“I am extremely excited to join Orasis Pharmaceuticals at such a pivotal time for the company as we execute on pre-commercialization activities,” Speed said. "It is a privilege to join the team as we pioneer a solution that balances efficacy, safety and comfort for people with presbyopia.”

Elad Kedar, chief executive officer of Orasis, added, “We are pleased to have Julie join the Orasis team at such a critical juncture for the company as we approach Phase 3 readout. We look forward to leveraging her expertise across many brands to lead our strategy and build a strong marketing team, positioning us to be a front-runner in presbyopia.”

Speed has more than two decades of ophthalmic leadership experience across both the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors. Her expertise spans from commercial leadership positions at Alcon and Johnson & Johnson Vision-Surgical, progressing commercial strategy and brands, to start-up organizations at Eyevance and TearLab, building marketing strategy and teams from the ground up.

Her broad marketing and launch experience with U.S. and global brands will help accelerate Orasis toward launch readiness, the announcement noted. Speed earned a BS degree in biomedical science from Texas A&M University and her MBA from Texas Christian University.

Presbyopia, the inability to focus on near objects, commonly occurs after the age of 40 and affects more than 1.8 billion people worldwide.