Clearside Biomedical appoints Susan Coultas as CCO

Clearside Biomedical, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company revolutionizing the delivery of therapies to the back of the eye through the suprachoroidal space (SCS®), today announced the appointment of Susan L. Coultas, Ph.D., as Chief Clinical Officer. In this role, Dr Coultas serves as a member of the executive team and has overall responsibility for planning the initiation and execution of Clearside’s clinical trials, including oversight of all clinical development operations.

“We are very excited to have Susan join our team,” said George Lasezkay, Pharm.D., J.D., Clearside’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “With her broad experience in clinical development at multiple leading ophthalmic companies, she will make significant contributions to Clearside’s vision, strategy, and operational effectiveness. Her expertise in advancing a therapy from the initial clinical development stages through approval for commercialization will be a valuable asset as we continue to progress our lead candidate, CLS-AX (axitinib injectable suspension) in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD). Dr Thomas Ciulla, our Chief Medical Officer and Chief Development Officer, will continue his current responsibilities for clinical trial design and overall product pipeline strategy and development. Tom will work closely with Susan regarding the implementation and analysis of our clinical pipeline programs.”

“I am pleased to join a dedicated team focused on developing a new generation of impactful treatments for retinal diseases utilizing a proven approach with our suprachoroidal space injection platform,” said Susan L. Coultas, Ph.D., Chief Clinical Officer. “I look forward to working with the executive team and supporting our clinical programs to realize the broad potential of our pipeline to benefit patients with sight-threatening eye diseases.”

Dr Coultas brings 35 years of experience in clinical development in the biopharmaceutical industry. Most recently, she served as Senior Vice President of Clinical Development at Kala Pharmaceuticals, where she was responsible for the planning and execution of its clinical programs, resulting in two new drug application filings and product approvals. Dr Coultas has worked with multiple ophthalmic companies, both internally and as a consultant, including Alcon Laboratories, Inc., CibaVision Ophthalmics, Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, and Bausch+Lomb, Inc. Earlier in her career, as owner of InfoQuest Clinical Network, Inc., Dr Coultas successfully identified, developed, and led a large network of clinical research professionals that managed numerous clinical trials in multiple systemic and ophthalmic therapeutic areas. Dr Coultas earned a Ph.D. in Public Health, Epidemiology, from Walden University, a M.S. in Biology from University of North Texas, and a B.S. in Biology from Texas Wesleyan University.
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