Apellis names Philip Ferrone as chief medical retina advisor

US retinal disease specialist Apellis Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: APLS) today announced that Dr Philip Ferrone will join the company as chief medical retina advisor, effective March 18.

“Phil is globally renowned for his leadership in retina, including as a past president of the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS), so we are delighted to welcome him to the Apellis team,” said Dr Caroline Baumal, chief medical officer, Apellis, adding: “Phil has extensive expertise in retina research and patient care, which will be invaluable as we continue to bring Syfovre [pegcetacoplan injection] to patients with GA and advance our retina pipeline.”

“It is an honor to join Apellis in its mission to deliver life-changing treatments for patients living with serious diseases,” said Dr Ferrone. “I was an early adopter of Syfovre and have realized first-hand how impactful this treatment is for GA [geographic atrophy] patients. I look forward to working closely with Caroline and this tremendously talented team to advance care for patients with this devastating disease.”