Aurion Biotech Appoints Professor Shigeru Kinoshita, MD, PhD, to Its Medical Advisory Board

Leading Ophthalmology Researcher, Surgeon and Inventor of Corneal Endothelial Cell Therapy Will Support the Product’s Clinical Development

July 13, 2021 – Seattle, Boston and Tokyo – Shigeru Kinoshita, MD, PhD, has joined the medical advisory board at Aurion Biotech, whose mission is to cure blindness by developing a differentiated platform of advanced therapies to treat ocular diseases. Professor Kinoshita is the inventor of Aurion Biotech’s lead candidate, cell therapy for the treatment of corneal endothelial disease. As a member of the company’s medical advisory board, he will continue to support the product’s clinical development.

“We are honored that Professor Kinoshita has agreed to join our medical advisory board,” said Greg Kunst, chief executive officer of Aurion Biotech. “His many distinguished accomplishments, his generosity with students and colleagues, and his exciting discoveries have profoundly transformed the treatment landscape for ophthalmology. We look forward to his insights and guidance in the months and years ahead.”

In 1992, Professor Shigeru Kinoshita, MD, PhD was appointed professor and chair of the department of ophthalmology at Kyoto Prefecture University of Medicine (KPUM). Since 2015, he has held the title of professor and chair in the department of frontier medical science and technology for ophthalmology at KPUM.

“I am pleased to join the Aurion Biotech medical advisory board,” said Professor Kinoshita. “We share a common objective: to advance the development of corneal endothelial cell therapy, in order to bring this procedure to millions of patients who suffer from corneal blindness. I look forward to our continued productive collaboration.”

Previously, while at Harvard University’s Schepens Eye Research Institute, Professor Kinoshita – in collaboration with Dr. Richard A. Thoft – established the concept of centripetal movement of the corneal epithelium. This groundbreaking work shed new light on the importance of the limbal epithelium. Professor Kinoshita’s discoveries have had an enormous impact on this subject, ultimately contributing to the development of corneal endothelial cell therapy, which is now being further developed by Aurion Biotech.

“I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Shigeru Kinoshita for many years,” said Edward Holland, MD, Aurion Biotech chief medical advisor and chair of its medical advisory board. “He has devoted his entire career to research, innovation, surgery, teaching and mentorship in ophthalmology. His insights and expertise in corneal endothelial cell therapy will be invaluable to us, as together we work to bring this procedure to patients in need.”

Professor Kinoshita is internationally recognized and holds multiple awards and appointments. He is a recipient of the Alcon Research Institute Award, the Castroviejo Medal Lecturer of the Cornea Society and the Friedenwald Award Lecturer of ARVO. He served as an ARVO program committee member between 1996 and 1999, and ARVO trustee between 2006 and 2011 in the cornea section, and was the vice president of ARVO in 2011. Professor Kinoshita also served as associate editor of Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. Professor Kinoshita received his medical degree from Osaka University Medical School. 

 About Aurion Biotech 

Based in Seattle, Boston and Tokyo, Aurion Biotech is a clinical stage biotech company. Our mission is to cure leading forms of blindness and transform the lives of millions of patients, by developing a platform of advanced therapies to treat ocular diseases. Our first candidate is for the treatment of corneal endothelial disease, and one of the first clinically validated cell therapies for corneal care. Healthy cells from a donor cornea are cultured in a novel, multi-step, proprietary and patented process. Cells from a single donor can be used to treat more than 100 recipient eyes. In early research and Phase 2 & Phase 3 clinical trials in Japan, patients have experienced significant and durable improvements in key measures of corneal health: visual acuity, corneal endothelial cell density and corneal thickness. The Aurion Biotech team is preparing for clinical trials in the U.S. To learn more about Aurion Biotech, a division of CorneaGen Inc., visit www.aurionbiotech.com   

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