Samsara vision appoints three new board members

Samsara Vision, a developer of advanced visual prosthetic devices for patients living with late-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD), has appointed three new members to its Board of Directors: Jonathan H. Talamo, M.D.; Tracy M. Valorie; and David Schiff; joining Thierry Clidiere, Steve Denelsky, and CEO Thomas Ruggia.

Earlier this year, VisionCare Inc. changed its name to Samsara Vision. Borrowing from Sanskrit, the word samsara describes a path of rebirth and growth. Samsara better reflects the company’s patient centricity and focus on helping some of the most vulnerable people in our society on a path towards new sight and unforeseen functional possibilities.

New Board Members Add Depth of Experience
Internationally known as an experienced surgeon and thought leader in the ophthalmology field, particularly in the areas of corneal disease, cataract and refractive surgery, Talamo, until January 2020, was the chief medical officer/worldwide vice president of Clinical and Medical Affairs at Johnson and Johnson Vision. Also an experienced health care executive, Talamo previously was the chief medical officer at Ocular Therapeutix. With more than 25 years of clinical practice experience in Boston, he is the founder, board member, and medical director of Ophthalmic ASC (Surgisite Boston) and the founder, managing partner, and medical director of Laser Eye Center of Boston LLC. Talamo is a past recipient of Honor and Senior Achievement awards from the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Since 2019, Valorie has been the owner and president of TMV Associates LLC, a strategic consulting firm to pharmaceutical and medical devices companies with a focus on early stage and startup activations. With more than 25 years’ experience in general management, commercial development, strategic planning, and brand and customer marketing, Valorie found success at Bausch + Lomb, were she was most recently the senior vice president, general manager Bausch + Lomb, a Valeant Company US Pharmaceuticals and Surgical Business, and senior vice president, general manager Women’s Health. She also spent 21 years supporting the ophthalmologic and other business lines at Pfizer.

Schiff is the co-founder and CEO of Innovatus Capital Partners, a boutique specialty finance asset management firm focused on private credit and asset-based investments and serves on the investment committee of all Innovatus investment vehicles. He participates on the boards of several portfolio companies across healthcare, consumer and equipment businesses and has managed capital for limited partners across institutions, pension funds and endowments over the last twenty-five years. Prior to founding Innovatus, Schiff was a partner at Perella Weinberg Partners and the portfolio manager of the Asset Based Value Funds from 2008 to 2016 that had over $2 billion of equity under management.

More than 15 million Americans are affected by some form of macular degeneration and approximately 2 million Americans have advanced forms of AMD with associated vision loss. The number of Americans afflicted with macular degeneration is expected to double with the rapid aging of the U.S. population. Late-stage AMD results in a loss of central or “straight-ahead” vision, creating a blind spot that is uncorrectable by glasses, drugs, injections or cataract surgery. This blind spot makes it difficult or impossible for patients to see faces, read, and perform everyday activities such as watching TV, preparing meals, and self-care. End-Stage AMD is the leading cause of blindness in older Americans. – Business Wire