NovaBridge's Visara Subsidiary Appoints Distinguished Ophthalmology Leaders as Chief Medical Officer and Scientific Advisory Board Chair to Drive VIS-101 Forward
- Cadmus C. Rich, MD, MBA, as Chief Medical Officer, and Carlos Quezada-Ruiz, MD, FASRS, as Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board, bring invaluable clinical development expertise to VIS-101 Program
- The ability to attract seasoned ophthalmology leaders highlights the compelling opportunity for VIS-101, and underscores our commitment to assembling a world-class team
- VIS-101, a novel bifunctional biologic targeting VEGF-A/ANG2, has the potential to become the current standard for wet AMD, DME and RVO, and is expected to be Phase-3-ready in 2026
ROCKVILLE, Md., Nov. 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NovaBridge Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBP) (NovaBridge or the Company) a global biotechnology platform company committed to accelerating access to innovative medicines, today announced that its subsidiary Visara, Inc. (Visara) has appointed Cadmus C. Rich, MD, MBA, as its Chief Medical Officer (CMO), and Carlos Quezada-Ruiz MD, FASRS, as Chairman of its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). As CMO, Dr. Rich will be responsible for overseeing all of the clinical functions and programs for Visara. Dr. Quezada-Ruiz will chair Visara's newly formed SAB.
"Dr. Rich and Dr. Quezada-Ruiz are each exceptional ophthalmologists and drug development leaders across global markets. Their appointments validate the exciting opportunity for VIS-101 and demonstrate Visara's commitment to building a world class organization. Dr. Rich is a skilled ophthalmology professional and accomplished drug development executive with proven expertise in pioneering cutting-edge programs across the R&D and regulatory landscapes," said Emmett T. Cunningham, Jr., MD, PhD, MPH, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Visara. "Dr. Quezada-Ruiz is an internationally recognized retina specialist and clinical scientist who has played a pivotal role in the development of novel technologies and therapies for retinal disease, including the development, global regulatory filings, and approvals of VABYSMO® for wet AMD. I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Rich and Dr. Quezada-Ruiz to Visara and believe they will each make invaluable contributions to our success."
"I am passionate about accelerating the development of innovative new ophthalmology treatments by defining effective clinical and regulatory strategies to streamline their path to patients as quickly as possible," said Dr. Rich, Chief Medical Officer of Visara. "VIS-101's dual targeting of VEGF-A and ANG-2, with the potential for more durable efficacy, could make it the class leading therapy for patients with wet AMD. I am excited to work with the Visara team to complete the Phase 2 study and advance the VIS-101 program into registrational development."
"I have had the privilege of contributing to the development and global approval of transformative retinal therapies that I now use in the clinic. Despite tremendous progress, there remains a significant unmet need for more durable and highly effective options," said Dr. Quezada-Ruiz. "I am excited to work with the Visara team to complete the Phase 2 study and advance the VIS-101 program into registrational development. Dual Ang-2 and VEGF-A inhibition is a proven strategy to enhance disease control, maximize vision, and extend durability for patients with neovascular retinal disease. I am genuinely excited by the potential for VIS-101 to deliver a safe, more durable, best-in-class therapy for patients worldwide. I am eager to collaborate with Dr. Cunningham, Dr. Rich and the Visara team to cultivate strong relationships in the retinal disease community and help accelerate development," said Dr. Quezada-Ruiz.
"The appointment of Dr. Rich as CMO and Dr. Quezada-Ruiz as SAB Chair highlights the successful execution of NovaBridge's strategic transformation to a global biotech platform and the growing momentum behind our innovative "hub-and-spoke" strategy. The ability to attract distinguished international leaders demonstrates our commitment to Visara's mission and to delivering value to our shareholders," said Sean Fu, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of NovaBridge.
About Cadmus C. Rich, MD, MBA
Dr. Rich is the Chief Medical Officer for Visara and is responsible for all the clinical functions and clinical programs for the company. Prior to joining Visara, Dr. Rich was the Chief Medical Officer at Lassen Therapeutics, LLC leading the thyroid eye disease, oncology, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis clinical programs. Prior to Lassen he served as Chief Medical Officer and Head of R&D for Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) an oncology company developing first in class oncology treatments for primary tumors to reduce the incidence of metastatic cancer, starting with the lead indication in choroidal melanoma and a secondary indication in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. Prior to Aura, Dr. Rich has held progressive positions in Ophthalmology R&D including Medical Director/Senior Director at IQVIA, Inc. (Quintiles), Head of Clinical Trial Management at Alcon, Therapeutic Unit Head for Intraocular Lens R&D at Alcon and VP, Clinical Development and Medical Affairs for Inotek Pharmaceuticals. In these roles he actively participated in the product development of over 40 Drugs/Device programs (including the approval of 5 drugs and 5 devices in the US and other global regions) and has led or participated in over 125 clinical trials. He has also served on the Board of Directors for Sustained Nano Systems, Inc., Prevent Blindness (where he also served as Treasurer), and the North Carolina Specialty Hospital.
Dr. Rich received his MD and Ophthalmology training at UNC/Chapel Hill Medical School/UNC Hospitals, his BA in Psychology from Case Western Reserve University, and his MBA in Health Care Administration from Regis University. Prior to joining the biopharmaceutical industry, Dr. Rich practiced cataract/refractive surgery and comprehensive ophthalmology and served as a Principal Investigator in multiple clinical trials. His passion is to combine his experience in ophthalmology, leadership, business and research and development to meet unmet medical needs for patients and coaching and mentoring professionals.
About Carlos Quezada-Ruiz, MD, FASRS
Dr. Carlos Quezada-Ruiz currently serves as Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the Instituto de Oftalmología Fundación Conde de Valenciana in Mexico City, and as Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the Mexican Retina Society. Dr. Quezada-Ruiz also serves as a scientific and drug development advisor to preclinical and clinical-stage biotechnology companies advancing novel therapies and technologies for retinal diseases.
Dr. Quezada-Ruiz has held senior leadership roles at Genentech Inc./Roche Group and most recently served as Senior Vice President and Ophthalmology Therapeutic Area Head at 4D Molecular Therapeutics (NASDAQ:FDMT). His expertise encompasses biologics, devices, and AAV-based gene therapies, as well as the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning to accelerate innovation in retinal drug development.
At Genentech, Dr. Quezada-Ruiz played a pivotal role in the global development and approvals of VABYSMO® and SUSIVMO™, leading design, execution, readouts, fillings and launch of registrational Phase 3 programs in wet AMD, DME, and diabetic retinopathy (DR), and label-expansion strategies for Lucentis®. At 4DMT, he directed early- and late-stage gene-therapy programs for retinal diseases and led trial design and global regulatory alignment for the company's lead candidate 4D-150 in neovascular AMD. His strategic leadership delivered accelerated timelines, reduced program risk, and enabled alignment with both the FDA and EMA, establishing that a single Phase 3 clinical trial could be acceptable for regulatory submission for 4D-150 in DME.
Dr. Quezada-Ruiz has authored more than 40 scientific publications, served on the scientific committee of the Mexican Retina Society, the editorial board of the Mexican Journal of Ophthalmology. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) and a member of multiple international societies, including AAO, ARVO, EURETINA, PAAO, AMR, SMO, and ACOREV. His contributions have been recognized with several honors, including the ASRS Senior Honor Award, the Roche Award of Excellence, and Genentech's Medical Excellence Award, among others.
About VIS-101
VIS-101 is a novel bifunctional biologic targeting VEGF-A and ANG-2, and a more potent molecule that could potentially provide more durable treatment benefits for patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD), diabetic macular edema (DME) and retinal vein occlusion (RVO) than current standard of care. VIS-101 has completed initial safety and dose-escalation studies in both the US and China, and is currently completing a randomized, dose-ranging Phase 2 study in China. VIS-101 is anticipated to be Phase 3-ready in 2026.
About Visara, Inc.
Visara is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on the development of best-in-class ophthalmic therapeutics. The Company is led by Co-Founder and Executive Chairman Emmett T. Cunningham, Jr., MD, PhD, MPH, a physician, innovator, entrepreneur, and investor and internationally recognized specialist in infectious and inflammatory eye disease. NovaBridge is the majority shareholder of Visara, and Visara controls global rights to VIS-101, outside of Greater China and certain countries in Asia.
About NovaBridge
NovaBridge is a global biotechnology platform company committed to accelerating access to innovative medicines. We combine deep business development expertise with agile translational clinical development to identify, accelerate, and advance breakthrough assets. By bridging science, strategy, and execution, NovaBridge enables transformative therapies to progress rapidly from discovery toward patients in need.
The Company's differentiated pipeline is led by givastomig, a potential best-in-class, bispecific antibody (Claudin 18.2 x 4-1BB), and VIS-101, a second-in-class, potentially best-in-class bifunctional biologic, targeting VEGF-A and ANG2.
Givastomig conditionally activates T cells via the 4-1BB signaling pathway in the tumor microenvironment where Claudin 18.2 is expressed. Givastomig is being developed to treat Claudin 18.2-positive gastric cancer and other gastrointestinal malignancies. The Company is also collaborating with its partner, ABL Bio, for the development of ragistomig, a bispecific antibody integrating PD-L1 as a tumor engager and 4-1BB as a conditional T cell activator, in solid tumors. Additionally, NovaBridge owns worldwide rights outside of China to uliledlimab, an anti-CD73 antibody that targets adenosine-driven immunosuppression in cancer.
VIS-101 targets VEGF-A and ANG-2 to provide more potent and durable treatment benefits for patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) and diabetic macular edema (DME). VIS-101 is currently completing a large, randomized, dose-ranging Phase 2 study for wet AMD. NovaBridge is the majority shareholder of Visara, and Visara controls global rights to VIS-101, outside of Greater China and certain countries in Asia.
For more information, please visit https://www.novabridge.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
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Forward Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will", "expects", "believes", "designed to", "anticipates", "future", "intends", "plans", "potential", "estimates", "confident", and similar terms or the negative thereof. NovaBridge may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC), in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, without limitation, statements regarding: the strategy, clinical development, plans, results, safety and efficacy of givastomig and VIS-101 and its other drug candidates; the strategic and clinical development of NovaBridge's drug candidates, including givastomig and VIS-101; anticipated clinical milestones and results, and related timing, and the impact of new leadership appointments. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in these forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the following: the Company's ability to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of its drug candidates; the clinical results for its drug candidates, which may or may not support further development or New Drug Application/Biologics License Application (NDA/BLA) approval; the content and timing of decisions made by the relevant regulatory authorities regarding regulatory approval of the Company's drug candidates; the Company's ability to achieve commercial success for its drug candidates, if approved; the Company's ability to obtain and maintain protection of intellectual property for its technology and drugs; the Company's reliance on third parties to conduct drug development, manufacturing and other services; the Company's limited operating history and the Company's ability to obtain additional funding for operations and to complete the development and commercialization of its drug candidates; and those risks more fully discussed in the "Risk Factors" section in the Company's annual report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on April 3, 2025 as well as the discussions of potential risks, uncertainties, and other important factors in the Company's subsequent filings with the SEC. All forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to the Company. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as may be required by law.
NovaBridge Investor & Media Contacts
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